Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its Mastercard stake by 75.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 90,889 shares and leaving it with 28,835 shares worth about $16.46 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on Mastercard, with analysts assigning an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $656.04, even as a few firms trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.
• Mastercard recently reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share payable August 7.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 75.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,835 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 90,889 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $656.04.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is pushing deeper into AI-driven “agentic commerce” with its new Agent Pay and related partnerships, which could help it capture more of the next wave of digital payments as AI agents begin shopping and paying on behalf of consumers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its cross-border payments footprint through partnerships involving PaidBy and the Appia Foundation, reinforcing its international network and transaction growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Mastercard’s network-focused model, faster growth profile, and estimated upside versus American Express, suggesting the stock may still have room to rerate as digital payments expand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend, which can appeal to income-focused investors and signals continued cash generation and shareholder returns.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard executives said consumers are still navigating the current economy reasonably well, which supports the view that spending trends remain stable but does not directly change the company’s outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on Mastercard’s former CMO and broader AI-driven marketing trends is more about the company’s thought leadership than a direct financial catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Mastercard with Remitly Global and a note about Mastercard being a top-ranked momentum stock are generally supportive, but they are more market commentary than new fundamentals. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: News that Russia is working on a plan to remove Visa and Mastercard highlights geopolitical and regulatory risk that could weigh on long-term international payment volumes. Article Title

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $490.73 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $499.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $521.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

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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