Sanders Capital LLC Sells 22,970 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Sanders Capital trimmed its Mastercard stake by 1.6%, selling 22,970 shares and retaining 1,415,000 shares (about 0.16% of the company) worth roughly $804.9 million, making MA its 28th-largest holding.
• Mastercard is pushing into crypto and digital finance — launching a global Crypto Partner Program, enabling SoFiUSD stablecoin settlement, rolling out AI "Virtual C‑Suite" tools, and partnering with Ericsson — initiatives that could open new revenue streams but carry regulatory and execution risk.
• Fundamentals remain strong: Mastercard beat Q earnings ($4.76 EPS vs $4.24 est) with 17.5% revenue growth, has a market cap near $444 billion, pays a $0.87 quarterly dividend, and holds an average analyst Buy rating with a $670.83 price target.

Sanders Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,415,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 22,970 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of Sanders Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sanders Capital LLC owned about 0.16% of Mastercard worth $804,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,541,880,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397,168 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,725,317,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position 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 worth $5,885,944,000 after purchasing an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,580,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Launched a global Crypto Partner Program to connect 85+ crypto firms and on‑chain infrastructure to Mastercard’s card network, positioning MA to capture tokenized settlement and new rails for payments. Mastercard's On-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded stablecoin ties — SoFiUSD can now be used as a settlement option across Mastercard’s network, opening use cases in cross‑border remittances, B2B payments and programmable treasury that could lower friction and fees for some flows. Can SoFi (SOFI) Leverage Its Mastercard Stablecoin Tie-Up
• Positive Sentiment: Rolled out AI-driven "Virtual C-Suite" starting with a Virtual CFO for small businesses — productizing payments data into actionable finance tools could deepen merchant relationships and create subscription/merchant-service revenue. Mastercard's Virtual C-Suite Brings AI-Powered CFO
• Positive Sentiment: Partnered with Ericsson to simplify digital money movement for telcos, fintechs and banks — extension into telecom rails targets financial inclusion and new transaction flows in underbanked markets. Ericsson and Mastercard Enhance Global Digital Money Movement
• Positive Sentiment: Industry uptake: multiple blockchain firms (e.g., Ava Labs) and payments infrastructure providers are joining Mastercard’s program, signaling broader ecosystem support that could accelerate real-world usage. Ava Labs joins Mastercard program
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail interest is elevated with several "trending" and comparative pieces (e.g., Visa vs. Mastercard), which can increase trading volatility but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Visa Vs. Mastercard: Which Payment Giant Is The Better Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Key risk: crypto/on‑chain initiatives face regulatory scrutiny and integration execution risks that could delay monetization or increase compliance costs — investors should weigh adoption timelines and regulatory exposure.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MA opened at $497.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $444.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $532.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $554.59. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure boosted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $670.83.

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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