New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $574.06 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,009,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 71,600 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $574,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,580,909,000 after buying an additional 1,299,977 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,098,695,000 after acquiring an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after acquiring an additional 542,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $685.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.70.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded MA to a “strong-buy,” which supports near-term buying interest and lifts sentiment among institutional investors. Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis projects 13%–16.5% annual EPS growth through 2028 and estimates a fair value near $616, highlighting durable margin profile and long-term transaction growth that justify premium multiples. Mastercard: Just Keep Swiping
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding agentic AI products and partnerships (banking/retail automation and an agent-led payments trial), which could drive new revenue streams and product differentiation over time. Mastercard Launches Agentic AI Suite
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage (Zacks, Yahoo/Zacks analyst blog) is keeping MA in focus ahead of its quarterly report — expectations point to double-digit revenue and EPS growth but also note a stretched valuation. Is Mastercard Stock a Smart Bet Ahead of Q4?
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets note Mastercard’s high institutional ownership and strong profitability metrics — positive fundamentals but they also underpin the stock’s premium multiple and sensitivity to growth misses. Head-To-Head Analysis: Mastercard & Ryvyl
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: Capital One’s acquisition activity (Brex) and broader bank consolidation/fintech push are cited as potential long-term competitive threats to card processors’ margins and volumes. Investors may price in this risk alongside premium valuation. Capital One Stock Weak After Earnings, Brex Deal in Focus

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA stock opened at $521.18 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.25%.

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.