Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 31,317 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,559,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 31,317 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Baillie Gifford & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.17% of Mastercard worth $887,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 22,400.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 88.9% in the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Mastercard by 3,694.7% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,288,000 after purchasing an additional 9,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point analyst upgrade and higher price target lift sentiment for MA; the firm moved Mastercard from Neutral to Buy and raised its target (reported via TheFly / InsiderMonkey), supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks previews next week’s earnings and expects Mastercard to have the attributes for an earnings beat, which could be a catalyst if results and guidance exceed market forecasts. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s partnership with Agoda enables instant travel redemptions in loyalty programs, accelerating experience-driven, digital-first rewards—potentially increasing cardholder engagement and merchant/issuer revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and premium-placement news: ONEflight International becomes the Official Private Aviation Partner of the McLaren‑Mastercard F1 Team—high-visibility partnership that supports Mastercard’s premium/brand strategy. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product/acceptance expansion: Phuket Smart Bus adds contactless card payments with Mastercard—incremental adoption in tourism markets supports transaction volume growth in travel-related corridors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing leadership changes: Mastercard named Alexandra Sloane VP of integrated marketing & communications and also appointed an Optus executive as VP of marketing/comms (Australia). These hires support brand/communications execution but are unlikely to move fundamentals near‑term. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine calendar item: Mastercard is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Thursday—investors are positioning ahead of the print, increasing sensitivity to any guidance or beats/misses. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/partner risk: London fintech Guavapay’s founder resigned ahead of a court battle with Mastercard—this could indicate localized legal or reputational frictions, though direct financial impact appears limited at this stage. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.24.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $524.67 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $554.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 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.