Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 75,535 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 445,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,535 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $258,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 55,868.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,541,880,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397,168 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 542,841 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, January 12th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.08.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MA opened at $539.82 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $557.14 and a 200 day moving average of $566.55. The firm has a market cap 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. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.25%.

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.