1,950 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Acquired by Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,950 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carderock Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $494,110,000 after purchasing an additional 768,514 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $4,306,000. Finally, Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $500.82 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $550.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $446.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $739.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $667.88.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Financial-sector strength is lifting payment names like Mastercard; the NYSE Financial Index moved higher in Monday trading, supporting MA. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Monday Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators see the financial sector poised to lead if sentiment improves, which can benefit large payments networks like MA. The Financial Sector Is Poised to Lead if Market Sentiment Improves. 2 Stocks to Watch.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a partnership with MMT’s Myra to launch a “lifestyle navigator” product — a revenue/engagement positive initiative in travel and consumer services. Mastercard collabs with MMT’s Myra, launches ‘lifestyle navigator’
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Mastercard’s long-term shareholder returns reinforces investor confidence in MA’s durable growth and cash returns. If You Invested $10,000 in Mastercard Stock 10 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary suggests recent weakness in MA was partly tied to short-term “AI scare” flows and that a strategic deal could help restore sentiment. Mastercard was a casualty of the AI scare trade. This deal could turn it around
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple valuation/comparison pieces are examining MA vs. peers (Evertec), providing context for value investors but not implying immediate direction. EVTC vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option? EVTC vs MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option? (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces on payments strategy and European policy debate may influence long-term competitive dynamics but are not immediate catalysts for MA shares. Beyond the card giants: Why Europe needs a new vision for sovereign payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of adjacent fintechs and peers (SoFi, Corpay, American Express commentary) is keeping investor attention on the sector but is only indirectly relevant to MA. Down 23%, is this Warren Buffett dividend stock undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reports Mastercard is taking a hit from the failure of Brazil’s Banco Master — a direct operational/credit exposure that can pressure regional volumes and require reserves or write-downs. Mastercard Takes Hit From the Failure of Brazil’s Banco Master

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.