Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Cut by Pictet North America Advisors SA

Pictet North America Advisors SA cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,253 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,056 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Mastercard by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon selects Mastercard/U.S. Bank to issue new U.S. business credit cards (replacing AmEx), a meaningful new client win that should drive transaction volume and net‑interchange revenue over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $631 price target, signaling analyst confidence in MA after recent pullbacks; positive momentum for investor sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Traditional finance continues to muscle into crypto: Franklin Templeton bought 250 Digital, and fintechs are launching stablecoin card rails that run on Mastercard’s network — potential new volume and fee streams as digital assets integrate with card payments. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is reportedly exploring selling a European “real payment” unit (acquired 2019) that generates ~$370M revenue and ~$100M earnings — could shrink recurring revenue if sold but may free capital to invest in higher‑growth blockchain/stablecoin initiatives. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst action: Evercore ISI reiterated an In Line rating ($610 PT) and UBS trimmed its target from $700 to $650 while keeping a Buy — supports longer‑term upside but highlights near‑term valuation reassessment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Australia’s central bank plans to ban merchant surcharges from October, a policy that could pressure card‑related fees and merchant economics in a key market. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational noise persists (FTC scrutiny referenced over past conduct), a reminder that public policy and reputation risk can affect issuer/processor relationships and costs. Read More.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.5%

MA stock opened at $491.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $438.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $517.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $545.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on Mastercard from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $664.40.

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.