Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Reduced by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its Mastercard stake by 2.2%, selling 6,681 shares to hold 293,760 shares worth about $167.7M, making MA its 23rd-largest position.
• Mastercard beat Q1 estimates with $4.60 EPS vs $4.38 and revenue of $8.40B (up 15.8% YoY), and analysts remain largely bullish with an average rating of "Buy" and an average target of $659.
• Institutional investors own 97.28% of MA and several funds adjusted positions while Mastercard pushes into AI, crypto and B2B payments, though a proposed ~$200B swipe-fee settlement and macro/sector risks create regulatory and market uncertainty.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 293,760 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,681 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Mastercard were worth $167,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vulcan Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 153.6% during the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $175,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $656.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $611.00 to $590.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $659.00.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MA opened at $504.69 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $507.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $536.46. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.22. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

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.

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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