Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton increased its stake in Mastercard by 24.0% in Q4 to 382,750 shares valued at $214.17 million, making MA about 2.7% of the firm's portfolio and its 14th largest holding.
• Analysts have a consensus Buy rating on MA with an average price target of $659, and several firms recently initiated or raised targets supporting positive sentiment.
• Mastercard beat Q4 EPS estimates ($4.76 vs. $4.24) with 17.5% revenue growth, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, ~0.7% yield), and remains heavily institutionally owned (~97%).

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 382,750 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 74,110 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.7% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $214,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,181,341,000 after purchasing an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $494,110,000 after purchasing an additional 768,514 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,885,944,000 after purchasing an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $245,980,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Compass Point upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $631.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $659.00.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth next week, boosting the prospect of an earnings beat that can drive the stock higher. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets upgraded MA to "strong-buy," a bullish signal from a major shop that can support buying interest. BMO Upgrade Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple business expansions and partnerships — e.g., KuCoin launching a Mastercard‑powered USDC payment card in Australia and new initiatives in South Africa and Sri Lanka — underscore network growth and new revenue streams. KuCoin Debuts Mastercard-Powered USDC Payment Card in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate sustainability and revenue progress: Mastercard reported continued revenue growth and emissions reductions, reinforcing the quality growth narrative investors like. Mastercard grows revenue, reduces emissions for third straight year
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary and bullish write-ups (including a positive thesis summarized on Yahoo Finance) highlight MA’s valuation vs. growth and keep buy-side interest elevated. Is Mastercard Incorporated (MA) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist lowered its price target from $611 to $590 but kept a "buy" rating — slightly less upside than before but still supportive. Truist Lowers PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons (PayPal vs. Mastercard) keep analysts debating relative value; these discussions can influence flows but are not an immediate catalyst. PYPL vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure: a new suit over card fees could increase litigation and regulatory scrutiny, creating a downside risk to margins and sentiment. Visa, Mastercard face new suit over card fees
• Negative Sentiment: Industry changes: reporting on a proposed Visa–Mastercard deal suggests merchants could gain tools to steer spending, which may pressure interchange revenue over time. Proposed Visa–Mastercard Deal Hands Merchants New Power to Steer Spending

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

Mastercard stock opened at $504.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $449.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $537.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $480.50 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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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