NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 1,977 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.0% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $41,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,397,168 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Mastercard by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,580,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,977 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 931,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

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 Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $539.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $484.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $557.14 and a 200-day moving average of $566.55. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Five 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.08.

Mastercard 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.