Callahan Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.5% of Callahan Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Robbins Farley lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

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 Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.24.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $524.67 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $471.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.36. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for 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%.Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.