Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Increased by CCLA Investment Management

CCLA Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,860 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.3% of CCLA Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. CCLA Investment Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $142,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,421,213,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 25.6% during the second 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% in the second 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. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.48.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MA opened at $572.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $514.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. 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’s 50-day moving average is $553.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.25%.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded access to its Merchant Cloud through a collaboration with MoneyHash, which should improve merchant payment performance and drive incremental merchant onboarding and transaction growth. Mastercard Expands Access to Merchant Cloud Through Collaboration With MoneyHash to Enhance Merchant Payment Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched a “Loan on Card” solution to expand lending through its network — a direct revenue lever that could increase interest-related fees and deepen cardholder engagement. Mastercard Introduces Loan on Card to Expand Lending Opportunities
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional collaboration with BlackRock and Franklin Templeton via the ADI Foundation signals growing institutional adoption and credibility for Mastercard’s initiatives, potentially supporting large-scale enterprise partnerships. BlackRock, Mastercard, and Franklin Templeton Announce Collaboration with ADI Foundation, Signaling Institutional Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Regional expansion: Mastercard boosted its Africa acceptance network ~45% in 2025, supporting long-term volume growth in underpenetrated markets. Mastercard Boosts Africa Acceptance Network by 45% in 2025, Accelerating the Continent’s Digital Economy
• Positive Sentiment: New consumer and marketing initiatives — e.g., McLaren Racing co-branded perks and youth financial-education programs — help drive card engagement and brand differentiation. Mastercard launches McLaren Racing Mastercard Pass with FAB Spendsafe launches Full-Service Financial Education Platform for Youth Backed by Mastercard in Canada
• Neutral Sentiment: Background pieces (INET history, EVTC vs MA comparison) provide context for investors but do not change fundamentals immediately; EVTC comparison may influence value-oriented buy/sell decisions for some investors. How INET Transformed MasterCard Transactions: An Overview EVTC vs. MA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal: Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay a combined $167.5M to settle a class-action ATM-fee lawsuit. The charge is manageable vs Mastercard’s market cap but is a reminder of ongoing litigation and regulatory risk in fee practices. Visa, Mastercard to pay $167.5 million in ATM user fee settlement​ Visa and Mastercard agree to pat €142 million to settle ATM fee lawsuit

Mastercard Company 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.