2,342 Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,092,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Mastercard worth $1,153,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $145,305,000. Stevens Capital Partners lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.8% during the third quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 2,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.5% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,374,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 28.6% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 52,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,692,000 after purchasing an additional 11,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 9,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,992,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $698.36.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $638.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $559.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $586.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $536.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $644.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 18.20%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Mastercard reported adjusted earnings of $5.31 per share versus the $5.17 consensus, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion, ahead of the $9.66 billion estimate. Net income increased 18% to approximately $4.6 billion. Reuters earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Payment activity and services remained strong: Purchase volume rose 9%, cross-border volume increased 11%, and switched transactions grew 9% on a local-currency basis. Value-added services revenue advanced 19%, supported by fraud prevention, data and marketing offerings, while the adjusted operating margin reached 60.5%.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved materially: TD Cowen, Wells Fargo, RBC, Barclays, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Susquehanna all raised their price targets, with targets ranging from $700 to $750 and ratings including “buy,” “overweight” and “outperform.” Analysts also highlighted Mastercard’s potential in AI commerce, tokenized payments and stablecoins. Zacks earnings call article
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard continues expanding its payments ecosystem through partnerships involving Google Pay, pay-by-bank services, co-branded cards and agentic commerce. These initiatives could support long-term transaction growth, although their near-term financial contribution is uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face legal and financial risks. A proposed £5 billion UK collective lawsuit alleges Mastercard’s interchange fees harmed merchants. Separately, nine-month operating cash flow declined 6%, while buybacks and dividends exceeded operating cash flow and debt increased by roughly $4.9 billion. UK lawsuit article

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,048 shares of company stock valued at $32,527,203. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.