Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 5,314 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of the State of Kentucky sold 5,314 shares of Mastercard in Q4 (a 4.2% reduction), leaving it with 120,257 shares valued at about $68.65 million (≈0.5% of the fund and its 21st largest holding).
• Large institutions continued to buy—State Street, Vanguard, Assenagon and Capital Research among others increased positions—and overall 97.28% of Mastercard shares are owned by institutional investors, signaling heavy institutional interest.
• Analysts maintain a positive view with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a $659 consensus price target; Mastercard also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 ($3.48 annualized, ~0.7% yield) with ex-dividend on April 9 and payment on May 8.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,257 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,314 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.5% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Mastercard were worth $68,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 buying an additional 768,514 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 629,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $245,980,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point raised shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Loop Capital began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $631.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $659.00.

Key Mastercard News

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 Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $504.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $449.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $507.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $537.57. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 currently 21.07%.

Mastercard 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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