Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 2,551 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 18.9%, buying 2,551 shares to hold 16,074 shares worth $9.18 million, about 1.1% of its portfolio and its 28th-largest holding.
• Mastercard's Q1 results beat expectations with EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 estimated and revenue of $8.40 billion (up ~15.8% YoY), supporting continued earnings momentum.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 97.28%, with major investors (Vanguard, State Street, Assenagon) increasing stakes, and analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" with an average price target of $657.07.

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,074 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.1% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,181,341,000 after acquiring an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $494,110,000 after acquiring an additional 768,514 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,885,944,000 after acquiring an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $289,353,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Mastercard reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with revenue up ~16% YoY and margin/ROE remaining robust; that underpins the company’s earnings momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: MoonPay will issue a virtual Mastercard debit card to let AI agents and users spend stablecoins anywhere Mastercard is accepted — expands crypto-to-fiat flows across the Mastercard network and creates incremental payment volume. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and product wins (Stripe integration, Wizard, Wells Fargo B2B efforts) reinforce Mastercard’s push into agentic commerce, tokenization and B2B card adoption — supports medium-term volume and fee growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary highlights secular upside — analysts’ average price targets imply material upside and some firms have raised FY estimates, signaling continued analyst confidence in long-term growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcripts are available for deeper read‑throughs on guidance and segment trends — useful for investors assessing sustainability of cross‑border and value‑added services growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its price target from $656 to $629 (still Outperform) — a downgrade in the target can prompt short-term selling even if the rating remains positive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna modestly lowered its target (from $670 to $665) — another target adjustment that may increase near-term volatility despite a positive stance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: several outlets note the stock fell despite earnings — suggests investor focus on valuation, buyback timing, margin pressure from rising expenses, or simply profit‑taking after recent gains. Read More.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $495.78 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $535.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $442.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Mastercard from $611.00 to $590.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Six equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $657.07.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.