Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its Mastercard stake by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,879 additional shares and ending with 56,014 shares valued at about $31.98 million.
• Mastercard’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $4.60 and revenue of $8.40 billion, while quarterly revenue rose 15.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $656, even though the shares have recently traded below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,879 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.3% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $31,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth 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. Tacita Capital Inc grew 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $493.41 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $435.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $531.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding into emerging “agentic commerce” and AI-driven payments through its PhotonPay partnership, which could support future transaction growth and strengthen its role in next-generation payment infrastructure. Can Mastercard Ride the Agentic Commerce Wave With PhotonPay?
• Positive Sentiment: PhotonPay said it completed its first live agentic payment with Mastercard, reinforcing the company’s early positioning in AI-enabled financial rails and secure autonomous transactions. PhotonPay Completes its First Live Agentic Payment Together with Mastercard
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and BMONI launched multi-currency payment cards in Nigeria, a sign of continued international expansion and efforts to deepen card usage in growth markets. Mastercard, BMONI launch multi-currency payment cards in Nigeria
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s recent earnings were strong, with revenue and EPS both beating expectations, but investors are weighing that against a premium valuation and a recent stock pullback. Assessing Mastercard (MA) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness And Premium P/E Multiple
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary suggests the recent dip below $500 may be an attractive entry point for long-term holders, but near-term headwinds could persist before growth re-accelerates later in 2026. Mastercard: The Dip Below $500 Is A Gift For Long-Term Investors (Rating Upgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: A U.S. inquiry into Brazil’s PIX system raises concerns that instant-payment rails could bypass card networks like Mastercard and pressure cross-border transaction volumes over time. U.S. PIX Inquiry Puts Mastercard Growth And Valuation In Focus

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.

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