Waycross Partners LLC Acquires 10,266 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Waycross Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,266 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 3.3% of Waycross Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.4%

MA opened at $483.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $519.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $548.06. The company has a market capitalization of $431.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $656.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $667.88.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding merchant acceptance and digital payments infrastructure across Africa, supporting long‑term volume growth and cross‑border transaction opportunities. Mastercard is driving digital economy growth in Africa by boosting acceptance network
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive commentary highlights investment in digital trust and cybersecurity—an operational positive for enterprise customers but unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially. In the next frontier of technology, digital trust is the new foundation
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets report Mastercard has hired bankers to explore selling the Nets real‑time payments unit it acquired for ~$3.2B in 2019. Investors fear this could signal a strategic retreat from European instant‑payments infrastructure, create execution uncertainty, and weigh on growth expectations even if the sale would raise cash or refocus capital. Mastercard looks to unwind biggest ever acquisition Mastercard explores sale of payments unit it bought from Nets in 2019, FT reports Mastercard Explores Divestiture of Nets Real-Time Payments Unit
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: the FTC has warned major payment processors, including Mastercard, against politically or religiously motivated “debanking”—adding compliance and reputational risk that could invite scrutiny or operational constraints. FTC Issues Warnings to Payment Processors Against ‘Debanking’
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in Europe: the European Payments Initiative (Wero) is gaining momentum as banks seek alternatives to U.S. card rails—this poses a medium‑term threat to transaction volumes in key markets. European Payments Initiative CEO says Trump fears are boosting its appeal
• Negative Sentiment: Peer moves (e.g., American Express pushing AI and new cash‑back offerings) increase product competition for customer wallet share and merchant relationships. American Express Bets Big on AI, Cash Back in 2026 Push

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.