Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,337 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.1% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $92,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Robbins Farley increased its position in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 45.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Mastercard News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Macquarie lifted their price target on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.24.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $524.67 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.35. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.25%.

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.