1,210 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Purchased by Waddell & Associates LLC

Waddell & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Avant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 11,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.3% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $669.27.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $498.14 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $548.26 and a 200-day moving average of $560.64. The company has a market cap of $444.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is staffing up for stablecoins and DeFi (hiring a Director of Crypto Flows), signalling management is pushing into new rails and card-stablecoin integrations that could create new revenue streams. Mastercard Is Staffing Up for Stablecoins and DeFi — Here’s What That Means
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships that extend reach: Mastercard and Ericsson are collaborating to integrate payments capabilities in the Middle East & Africa (Mastercard Move + Ericsson Fintech), and Mastercard is partnering with Cloudflare and banks (Truist) to expand open finance tools and SMB payment solutions — these can support revenue growth outside core interchange. Mastercard, Ericsson craft payment tools
• Positive Sentiment: Incremental acceptance wins (e.g., public transit fare acceptance) broaden everyday use cases and deepen network utility. Mastercard users can pay bus fares
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is divesting its SessionM loyalty business to Capillary Technologies for $20 million — a small, non-core asset sale that raises cash but is unlikely to materially move revenue or margins. Capillary Technologies acquires SessionM from Mastercard for $20 million
• Negative Sentiment: Citrini Research’s scenario analysis argues AI agents and low-fee stablecoin rails could bypass interchange, presenting an existential threat to card economics; that report has triggered sector selling and negative attention on MA. Mastercard In Crosshairs: Citrini Models AI Agents Bypassing Interchange As Stablecoins Threaten Card Economics
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: the Citrini/dystopian AI narrative has pressured payments and software stocks (including Visa/MA/AmEx), amplifying short-term volatility and selling pressure. Dystopian AI report sinks payment and software stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from new European payment apps aiming to challenge Visa/Mastercard in retail payments could pressure fees/volume in specific corridors over time. European payment app targets Visa, Mastercard dominance with retail payments push

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.