Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• China Universal Asset Management increased its Mastercard stake by 20.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 10,261 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard exceeded third-quarter expectations: adjusted EPS was $5.31 versus $5.17 expected, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion. Payment volumes remained strong, and value-added services revenue grew 19%.
• Shares trade near their 52-week high amid strong analyst support, with an average target price of $683.94 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus. However, investors should monitor declining operating cash flow, higher debt, and recent insider selling.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,261 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlatl Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the third quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS reached $5.31 versus the $5.17 consensus, while revenue rose 14% year over year to approximately $9.81 billion, above estimates of $9.66 billion. Net income increased 18% to about $4.6 billion. Mastercard Beats Q3 Earnings on Higher Cross-Border Volumes and Pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Payment activity remained healthy. Gross dollar volume increased 7%, purchase volume rose 9%, cross-border volume climbed 11% in local currency, and switched transactions grew 9%. Higher international activity and pricing helped drive the beat despite inflation and economic uncertainty. Mastercard caps strong quarter as consumer spending holds up
• Positive Sentiment: Value-added services are becoming a major growth engine. Services revenue jumped 19%, supported by fraud prevention, cybersecurity, data and marketing offerings. Adjusted operating margin expanded to 60.5%, adding to the earnings appeal. Mastercard Q3 2026: Six straight beats as value-added services surge
• Positive Sentiment: Investors see longer-term optionality in new payment technologies. Mastercard highlighted partnerships involving artificial intelligence, tokenized cards, stablecoins and “agentic commerce,” while expanding digital-payment acceptance through initiatives such as Google Pay in Nigeria. Mastercard backs tokenized card payments for agentic commerce
• Negative Sentiment: Cash-flow and leverage trends warrant monitoring. Nine-month operating cash flow fell 6% to $11.9 billion, while buybacks and dividends totaled $14.2 billion. Debt also increased by roughly $4.9 billion, creating a less favorable funding profile despite strong reported earnings. Mastercard Services Revenue Jumps 19%: Rapid Earnings Reaction

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,048 shares of company stock valued at $32,527,203. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $636.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $585.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $535.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $557.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $641.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MA. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. President Capital upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $683.94.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.

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