Farallon Capital Management LLC Buys 61,700 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Farallon Capital raised its Mastercard stake by 40.6%, buying an additional 61,700 shares to hold 213,771 shares worth about $121.6 million at quarter end.
• Mastercard beat Q4 expectations, reporting EPS of $4.76 versus $4.24 and revenue of $8.81 billion (up 17.5% YoY), supported by strong profitability (net margin 45.65%, ROE 203.92%).
• The company is pushing into new payment rails — launching a global Crypto Partner Program, expanding stablecoin settlement (SoFiUSD) and rolling out AI tools for merchants — and analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus price target of $670.83.

Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 40.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,771 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 61,700 shares during the quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $121,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $7,541,880,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397,168 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $6,725,317,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 955,533 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the third 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 buying an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Mastercard by 60.6% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 961,051 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,053,000 after acquiring an additional 362,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $497.98 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $532.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $554.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

More Mastercard News

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. HSBC upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure lifted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $670.83.

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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