Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 792.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 865,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 768,514 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.7% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.10% of Mastercard worth $494,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $4,306,000. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Tactive Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Tactive Advisors LLC now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

Mastercard stock opened at $500.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $446.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $550.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial set a $611.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $667.88.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Financial-sector strength is lifting payment names like Mastercard; the NYSE Financial Index moved higher in Monday trading, supporting MA. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Monday Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators see the financial sector poised to lead if sentiment improves, which can benefit large payments networks like MA. The Financial Sector Is Poised to Lead if Market Sentiment Improves. 2 Stocks to Watch.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a partnership with MMT’s Myra to launch a “lifestyle navigator” product — a revenue/engagement positive initiative in travel and consumer services. Mastercard collabs with MMT’s Myra, launches ‘lifestyle navigator’
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Mastercard’s long-term shareholder returns reinforces investor confidence in MA’s durable growth and cash returns. If You Invested $10,000 in Mastercard Stock 10 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary suggests recent weakness in MA was partly tied to short-term “AI scare” flows and that a strategic deal could help restore sentiment. Mastercard was a casualty of the AI scare trade. This deal could turn it around
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple valuation/comparison pieces are examining MA vs. peers (Evertec), providing context for value investors but not implying immediate direction. EVTC vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option? EVTC vs MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option? (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces on payments strategy and European policy debate may influence long-term competitive dynamics but are not immediate catalysts for MA shares. Beyond the card giants: Why Europe needs a new vision for sovereign payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of adjacent fintechs and peers (SoFi, Corpay, American Express commentary) is keeping investor attention on the sector but is only indirectly relevant to MA. Down 23%, is this Warren Buffett dividend stock undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reports Mastercard is taking a hit from the failure of Brazil’s Banco Master — a direct operational/credit exposure that can pressure regional volumes and require reserves or write-downs. Mastercard Takes Hit From the Failure of Brazil’s Banco Master

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.