Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $662.08.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Compass Point raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and strategists urging buys after the sell-off — several experts argue the Trump-driven headlines create a buying opportunity for credit-card stocks, saying fundamentals and fee diversification make names like Mastercard resilient. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard highlights product-led growth: Zacks notes MA is pushing category-specific prepaid rewards (fuel, EV charging, groceries) to convert incentive spend into steadier network transactions — a revenue mix that could boost take-rates and recurring volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership expansion: Botim Money is collaborating with Mastercard to accelerate embedded cross-border payments, supporting volume growth in digital remittances and B2B payment flows. Partnerships like this can deepen network effects and revenue streams. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate thought leadership: Mastercard published its “Six Payment Trends for 2026,” reinforcing the company’s strategy on payments innovation and market positioning. Useful context for investors on growth catalysts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date: Mastercard will report Q4 and full-year 2025 results on Jan. 29 and host a conference call — a proximate catalyst that can reprice the shares based on results and guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-watch pieces and stock lists (mixed signals): analyst newsletters and comparative write-ups are flagging Mastercard in various “target/avoid” lists and head-to-heads, providing both bullish and cautious viewpoints but no immediate fundamental change. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk is front and center: President Trump revived proposals to cap credit-card interest rates and swipe fees, prompting broad headlines and political scrutiny that could, if enacted, materially compress issuer and network economics. That policy risk is the main driver of selling pressure across Visa/Mastercard. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sell-off & headlines: Multiple outlets report a sector sell-off tied to the rate-cap story, which has pressured Mastercard shares short-term despite analyst pushbacks. Expect volatility until regulatory clarity arrives. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector shake-up commentary: Analysis on winners/losers of a proposed 10% interest cap suggests material shifts in capital flows and lender economics that could indirectly pressure Mastercard through lower network volumes or altered partner economics. Read More.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $546.45 on Thursday. Mastercard has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $490.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $557.59 and a 200-day moving average of $566.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.25%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MA. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 22,400.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 88.9% in the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,723,000 after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3,694.7% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,288,000 after purchasing an additional 9,052 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mastercard

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.