Bowie Capital Management LLC Sells 28,782 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Bowie Capital Management reduced its Mastercard holding by 13.3%, selling 28,782 shares and leaving 187,015 shares valued at about $106.38 million, which represents 4.6% of Bowie’s portfolio (its 12th largest position).
• Institutional and analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 97.28% of Mastercard is owned by institutions, several large funds increased stakes, and MarketBeat shows a consensus Buy rating with a $670.61 target price.
• Mastercard reported an earnings beat (EPS $4.76 vs. $4.24 est.) with revenue up 17.5% year-over-year, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 ($3.48 annualized, ~0.7% yield).

Bowie Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,015 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 28,782 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 4.6% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $106,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,181,341,000 after purchasing an additional 955,533 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,062,509,000 after buying an additional 542,841 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,541,880,000 after buying an additional 13,397,168 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,725,317,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,580,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,977 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Six investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $670.61.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $521.82 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $539.50 and its 200 day moving average is $557.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company 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. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

More Mastercard News

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

Mastercard Company 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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