Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $88,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.1% during the third quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.3% in the third quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 23,664 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,486,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFC Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.0% in the third quarter. PFC Capital Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $670.61.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $514.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $537.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched the Mastercard Global Commerce Suite for Small Businesses in Asia Pacific to simplify cross?border payments for SMEs — a product aimed at driving higher cross?border volumes and platform fees from growing regional trade. Mastercard Simplifies Cross-Border Payments for Asia Pacific SMEs
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced an AI?powered “virtual CFO” for small businesses to help with cash flow, risk spotting and financial decisions — productizing analytics/AI for SMBs could create recurring, sticky revenue and expand VASS (value?added services) adoption. Most small businesses can’t afford a full-time finance chief. So Mastercard is debuting a ‘virtual CFO’ built with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard struck a consumer credit information deal with TransUnion, expanding data and analytics capabilities that can feed risk, underwriting and merchant solutions — a commercial tie?up that supports higher?margin data services. TransUnion, Mastercard ink consumer credit info deal
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated coverage on MA with a Buy and a $700 target, a clear analyst endorsement that can boost investor confidence and buying interest. BofA Reinstates Coverage of Mastercard Incorporated (MA) With a Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis and commentary highlight Mastercard’s strategic shift from payments to software/SaaS and cybersecurity (VASS now >40% of revenue) — investors view this as a margin and growth re?rating opportunity if recurring B2B revenues continue scaling. Mastercard’s Shift From Payments To Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate on valuation: a Zacks piece notes Mastercard trades at ~25.9–31x P/E — “pricey but not overpriced” — reminding investors that growth and margin expansion must justify valuation. Mastercard at 25.9X P/E: Pricey, But Not Overpriced – Buy or Wait?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard presented at the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum (transcript released) — presentations can reinforce strategy but contained no major new guidance. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Presents at Wolfe Research FinTech Forum Transcript

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.