Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,757 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,078 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,580,909,000 after buying an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $4.76 (above estimates) and revenue of $8.81B; management pointed to strong gross dollar volume (GDV), cross‑border spending and growth in cybersecurity/value‑added services as the main drivers. Mastercard’s Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong GDV, Cross-Border Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives — management is pushing beyond cards into “agentic commerce” and stablecoins, signaling new rails for payments that could boost long‑term revenue mix and margins if adoption accelerates. Mastercard Leans Into Agentic Commerce and Stablecoins While Card Volumes Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded MA to a “strong‑buy,” providing additional buy‑side support after the quarter. Zacks / Cantor Fitzgerald coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings disclosure and context — transcripts and slide deck detail metrics and management commentary for investors digging into guidance, margin drivers and regional trends. Useful for re‑rating or modeling MA but not an immediate catalyst. Mastercard Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts note MA is richly valued, though others argue the earnings beat and growth profile justify a premium; this fuels mixed near‑term trading. Mastercard stock is expensive, but Q4 earnings still warrant a buy
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce reduction — Mastercard will cut roughly 4% of full‑time employees after a business review, a near‑term cost but also a signal that management is trimming to improve efficiency. Mastercard to lay off 4% of its global workforce, CFO says
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risk — CEO public comments opposing U.S. legislative changes (Credit Card Competition Act) highlight regulatory headwinds that could affect interchange economics or competitive dynamics. Mastercard CEO wades into Trump’s credit card pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/marketing risk — a promotional “reverse ATM” stunt drew criticism for hidden risks, a reminder that brand and trust matter in payments. Mastercard’s ‘reverse ATM’ stunt comes with a hidden risk

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $543.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $554.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $564.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. Tigress Financial increased 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. Redburn Partners set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $662.63.

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.