Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sells Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democratic-Rhode Island) recently sold shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). In a filing disclosed on March 06th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Mastercard stock on February 23rd.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) on 2/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 2/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 2/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 1/9/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 1/9/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) on 1/9/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) on 1/9/2026.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MA opened at $521.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $465.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $539.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $557.37.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $670.61.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its partnership with SoFi to enable SoFiUSD stablecoin settlements across Mastercard’s global payments network — a move that could accelerate cross‑border and B2B settlement use cases and support fees from new rails. Mastercard’s Stablecoin Moment: SoFiUSD Gets Global Settlement Rails
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive: Bank of America/other firms have highlighted card networks as defensive growth plays and some firms have raised price targets or maintain Buy ratings, giving upside to valuation expectations. BofA sees card networks as safest bets Mastercard Receives Consensus ‘Buy’
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate / partnership PR — a Mastercard executive was appointed to Delivering Good’s board (non‑financial/CSR news). Useful for reputation but unlikely to move fundamentals. Delivering Good Welcomes Three New Board Members
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry positioning: coverage of Mastercard trialing autonomous payment/AI agents and engaging with standards work — signals ongoing product innovation; timing and monetization remain uncertain. Mastercard, DBS and UOB trial autonomous payment AI agent Visa, Mastercard jockey to set agentic standards
• Negative Sentiment: Risk theme — analysts and stories are raising the prospect that AI shopping agents could reduce the role of card networks in commerce, a structural threat that could pressure long‑term growth assumptions. Are Visa and Mastercard vulnerable to AI shopping agents?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/competitive concern — coverage arguing Europe needs a payments system independent of Visa/Mastercard highlights potential policy/headwinds that could limit market access or pricing power in key regions. Why Europe needs a payment system independent of Mastercard and Visa
• Negative Sentiment: Negative media spotlight — high‑profile commentators have advised caution on trading Mastercard, which can amplify short‑term selling pressure despite underlying fundamentals. Cramer’s Stop Trading: Mastercard

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, 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. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Senator Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2031.

Whitehouse (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Rhode Island. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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.