Mastercard Incorporated $MA Position Cut by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Wendell David Associates trimmed its Mastercard stake by 4.1%, selling 4,772 shares to hold 110,371 shares worth $63.01 million, which represents about 6.4% of the firm's portfolio and its third-largest position.
• Mastercard beat Q1 expectations with $4.60 EPS vs. $4.38 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion vs. $8.25 billion, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share (0.7% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive (consensus "Buy" with an average price target of $659 and several firms raising targets), but a regulatory/legal overhang — retailers opposing a proposed ~$200 billion Visa‑Mastercard swipe‑fee settlement — remains a potential risk.

Wendell David Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,371 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,772 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 6.4% of Wendell David Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Tacita Capital Inc raised its position in Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Dagco Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 627.3% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 80 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform and a $605 price target, highlighting Mastercard’s ability to grow beyond basic payments and noting sizable share buybacks (~$11.9B in the year through Sept. 2025) that support EPS and return of capital to shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group slightly raised FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates, a sign of modest upward revisions to profit expectations ahead of Q1 results — this reduces downside surprise risk on the print. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product and partnership momentum: Mastercard is expanding Agent Pay and Verifiable Intent for AI agent-driven commerce and enabling crypto‑backed payments via integrations (KuCoin, Lobster.cash), which diversify revenue opportunities and position MA for new payment rails. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Targeting B2B payments friction with Wells Fargo could unlock higher-margin corporate card volume and accelerate card adoption in a large, under‑penetrated market. This is a structural growth story beyond consumer spend. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: MA will participate in investor conferences in May — useful for management to frame growth drivers and buyback plans but not an immediate fundamental change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings are scheduled before the open today — the print is the main near‑term catalyst; expectations are elevated after recent beats, so results and guidance will drive intraday moves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wider market context: investors are digesting Big Tech earnings and macro cues (inflation) that influence risk appetite for cyclical/financial names. This adds a market‑level driver separate from MA’s company news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal overhang: retailers are opposing a proposed ~$200B Visa‑Mastercard swipe‑fee settlement — continued litigation, settlement revisions or carve-outs could increase costs or uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical stress and sector weakness have left payments stocks down year‑to‑date in some analyses — that can amplify negative reaction to any softer guidance or signs of decelerating volumes. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Mastercard from $611.00 to $590.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Six equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $659.00.

Mastercard Trading Up 3.5%

MA opened at $525.26 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $507.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.46. The company has a market capitalization of $468.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $480.50 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%.

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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