Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s 9th Largest Position

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,239,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 133,404 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.1% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.69% of Mastercard worth $3,548,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,541,880,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397,168 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,725,317,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $524,914,000 after buying an additional 908,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after buying an additional 542,841 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $662.08.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management’s “API-first” push is turning Mastercard into a broader payments infrastructure provider — embedding tokenization, fraud tools and open-banking connections that can create stickier, higher-margin revenue streams. Why Mastercard’s API-First Strategy Is Becoming a Growth Multiplier
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and earnings models expect Mastercard to continue its streak of beats — the firm’s recent quarter showed strong revenue and EPS growth, and consensus forecasts imply continued upside to estimates. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish equity research (Seeking Alpha) reiterates Mastercard’s wide moat and resilient business model, arguing regulatory scenarios would likely have limited EPS downside — supporting the view that pullbacks may be buying opportunities. Mastercard: A Fire To Run Towards
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst ratings remain constructive (average “Buy”), which can support demand if macro/regulatory noise stabilizes. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Market attention and technical interest have increased after a recent pullback, which could amplify moves in either direction depending on next catalysts (earnings, regulatory updates). Is Trending Stock Mastercard Incorporated (MA) a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal setback in the U.K.: the High Court ruled the payments regulator can set a cap on cross-border interchange fees, increasing the risk of fee restrictions in key markets and prompting immediate investor concern. Mastercard, Visa and Revolut lose UK case over proposed cross-border card fees cap
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. policy risk is rising: senators reintroduced the Credit Card Competition Act and political rhetoric (including presidential support for fee/rate caps) has intensified, creating headline risk that could pressure margins if legislation advances. Senators reintroduce Credit Card Competition Act after Trump endorses bill to lower swipe fees

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

MA stock opened at $539.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $484.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $557.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.25%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.