Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,760,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 131,884 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.31% of Mastercard worth $1,570,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Robbins Farley increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third 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. Tacita Capital Inc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $497.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $444.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $532.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $554.32.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Launched a global Crypto Partner Program to connect 85+ crypto firms and on‑chain infrastructure to Mastercard’s card network, positioning MA to capture tokenized settlement and new rails for payments. Mastercard’s On-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded stablecoin ties — SoFiUSD can now be used as a settlement option across Mastercard’s network, opening use cases in cross‑border remittances, B2B payments and programmable treasury that could lower friction and fees for some flows. Can SoFi (SOFI) Leverage Its Mastercard Stablecoin Tie-Up
• Positive Sentiment: Rolled out AI-driven “Virtual C-Suite” starting with a Virtual CFO for small businesses — productizing payments data into actionable finance tools could deepen merchant relationships and create subscription/merchant-service revenue. Mastercard’s Virtual C-Suite Brings AI-Powered CFO
• Positive Sentiment: Partnered with Ericsson to simplify digital money movement for telcos, fintechs and banks — extension into telecom rails targets financial inclusion and new transaction flows in underbanked markets. Ericsson and Mastercard Enhance Global Digital Money Movement
• Positive Sentiment: Industry uptake: multiple blockchain firms (e.g., Ava Labs) and payments infrastructure providers are joining Mastercard’s program, signaling broader ecosystem support that could accelerate real-world usage. Ava Labs joins Mastercard program
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail interest is elevated with several “trending” and comparative pieces (e.g., Visa vs. Mastercard), which can increase trading volatility but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Visa Vs. Mastercard: Which Payment Giant Is The Better Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Key risk: crypto/on‑chain initiatives face regulatory scrutiny and integration execution risks that could delay monetization or increase compliance costs — investors should weigh adoption timelines and regulatory exposure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $670.83.

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.