Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Mastercard (NYSE:MA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $656.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MA. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.78.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $538.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.43. The firm has a market cap of $483.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Robbins Farley increased its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported stronger‑than‑expected EPS and revenue, with growth in gross dollar volume, cross‑border spending and cybersecurity/value‑added services, supporting the case for durable revenue growth. Zacks Q4 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Macquarie raised its price target to $675 and kept an “outperform” rating — another vote of confidence that supports upside expectations. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen nudged its target higher to $671 and maintains a “buy” — adds to the cluster of bullish analyst views following the print. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed its “outperform” rating with a $656 target — another supportive analyst anchor above the current price. TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its target from $685 to $655 but kept an “overweight” rating — slightly less bullish upside than before, but still constructive overall. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Management outlined strategic moves into agentic commerce and stablecoins — promising long‑term optionality but uncertain near‑term revenue impact. PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard will cut about 4% of full‑time employees after a business review — a near‑term cost action that can boost margins but may signal internal pressure or slower growth in some areas. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and sector risk commentary (including discussion of potential card legislation and broader sector headwinds) adds uncertainty to valuation and investor risk appetite. BNN Bloomberg

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.