QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 5,173 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Mastercard stake by 4.7%, buying 5,173 shares to hold 115,091 shares worth about $65.7 million, making MA its 18th-largest position (0.7% of the fund).
• Mastercard beat Q1 estimates with revenue up 15.8% y/y to $8.40 billion and EPS of $4.60, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, yield ~0.7%).
• Institutional ownership is very high (97.28%) with major holders (Vanguard, State Street) adding shares, and analysts overall rate the stock a consensus "Buy" with a $657.07 target, though some firms have trimmed targets and flagged cross‑border/FX headwinds.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,091 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,173 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $65,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,181,341,000 after acquiring an additional 955,533 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $494,110,000 after acquiring an additional 768,514 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,885,944,000 after acquiring an additional 629,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $289,353,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of MA opened at $505.43 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $506.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $535.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $480.50 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.54 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: Mastercard reported revenue up ~15.8% y/y and non-GAAP EPS that topped consensus, driven by volume and value‑added services — a core reason traders are bullish on near‑term momentum. MA Q1 Deep Dive: Cross-Border Headwinds and Value-Added Services Drive Diverging Trends
• Positive Sentiment: Accelerating digital‑asset strategy: Mastercard announced partnerships (MoonPay, Rain, KuCoin), extended crypto spending options, rolled out programmable/agent-initiated payment tools, and is acquiring BVNK to beef up on‑chain rails — actions that expand TAM and fee‑bearing services. Mastercard Deepens Digital Asset Push With Stablecoin And AI Payment Rails
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / buy-case support: Some outlets and independent analysts are lifting Mastercard as a top pick post‑Q1, citing resilient fundamentals and a discounted entry after the pullback. Mastercard Is One Of Our Top Picks After Q1 Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: AI / agentic commerce context: Industry pieces note payment networks (including Mastercard) are building infrastructure for agentic commerce — a long‑term growth vector but one that will take time to monetise. Payment Networks Ready Infrastructure for Agentic Commerce at Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term fundamentals: Deep‑dive analysis highlights strong ROE, high margins, and a shift into higher‑margin services (fraud/cyber, data analytics), supporting a constructive long‑term thesis despite macro noise. Mastercard And Its Real Value
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades / price‑target trims: Some firms have lowered targets after the post‑earnings move, which can cap near‑term upside and increase volatility. Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Mastercard NYSE: MA Price Target to $629.00 Susquehanna Lowers Mastercard NYSE: MA Price Target to $665.00
• Negative Sentiment: Cross‑border / FX headwinds: Management noted cross‑border travel and FX dynamics are creating uneven trends across regions — a constraint on revenue mix and near‑term growth outlook despite the overall beat. MA Q1 Deep Dive: Cross-Border Headwinds and Value-Added Services Drive Diverging Trends

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $657.07.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.