Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group increased its Mastercard stake by 9.8% in the third quarter, adding 2,499 shares to reach 28,093 shares valued at about $15.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.28% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook: Mastercard has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $702.91, with several brokerages recently raising their targets.
• Mastercard’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $5.31 versus $5.17 anticipated and revenue of $9.81 billion, up 14% year over year.

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,093 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 24,108 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,295,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.1% during the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,590,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.6% during the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 793 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 9.5% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 145,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $81,893,000 after buying an additional 12,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third View Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 8.4% in the third quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,402 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $696.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $701.00 target price (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $702.91.

Mastercard Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE MA opened at $671.85 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $590.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $537.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $673.50. The stock has a market cap of $588.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.99 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade helped lift sentiment, while recent post-earnings target increases—including UBS’s $750 and Cantor Fitzgerald’s $765 targets—signal confidence in Mastercard’s outlook. Report on analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s third-quarter results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion, and EPS of $5.31 topped the $5.17 consensus. The results reinforce the company’s growth story. Q3 results and growth drivers
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is extending digital payment access in Morocco through Samsung Pay. Wider mobile-wallet availability could support transaction growth over time. Samsung Pay expansion in Morocco
• Positive Sentiment: New card offerings with Bank of Punjab in Pakistan and Safwa Islamic Bank expand Mastercard-linked products with regional partners, creating potential for additional card usage and payment volume. Bank of Punjab card launch Safwa Islamic Bank card launch
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman praised Mastercard as a high-quality business, and analyst estimates cited in the article project normalized EPS growth of about 16% annually from 2026 to 2028. Ackman’s comments and growth estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard introduced free cybersecurity training for European small businesses. The initiative may deepen business relationships, but its near-term financial contribution is unclear. Cybersecurity lessons for SMEs
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares, adding a modest insider-selling concern. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces the likelihood it reflects a new view on the company. CFO share sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,559.77. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total transaction of $1,907,344.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,403,600. This trade represents a 8.18% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard 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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