Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 55.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,052 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.7% of Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.0% during the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in Mastercard by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.4% in the second quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 33,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,803,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $662.08.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullish thesis: A Seeking Alpha piece reiterates a buy view, arguing Mastercard’s moat, technical strength and resilient business model make it attractive despite regulatory headline risk; the author models limited worst‑case revenue exposure to card‑fee reforms (6–9% of net revenue, modest EPS impact). Mastercard: A Fire To Run Towards
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat potential: Zacks highlights Mastercard’s strong earnings‑surprise history and current setup that could support another beat when the company reports next, which is a potential catalyst for upside if results and guidance stay robust. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Business initiatives: Coverage notes Mastercard’s push to grow “incentive spend” (category‑specific prepaid rewards for fuel, EV charging, groceries) as a way to build steadier network volume — a longer‑term growth lever but not an immediate offset to regulatory shocks. Is Mastercard Turning Incentive Spend Into a Reliable Growth Channel?
• Negative Sentiment: UK legal setback: The U.K. High Court ruled the Payment Systems Regulator can cap cross‑border interchange fees, a direct legal loss for Mastercard (and Visa/Revolut) that creates concrete downside risk to cross‑border fee revenue and investor sentiment in Europe. Mastercard, Visa and Revolut lose UK case over proposed cross-border card fees cap
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. political/regulatory pressure: Renewed U.S. attention — including President Trump’s public comments on fee/rate caps and reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act — has raised headline risk and prompted sector‑wide selling, increasing near‑term volatility for MA shares. Visa and Mastercard stock falls as Trump doubles down on fee crackdown

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $542.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $486.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $557.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.66. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.