Bailard Inc. Acquires 961 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Robbins Farley lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 45.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $527.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $473.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $555.69 and its 200-day moving average is $565.85. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MA. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.24.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Partnership to modernize travel loyalty — Mastercard teamed with Agoda to offer more flexible travel rewards, supporting merchant/consumer engagement and cross-border volume growth. Agoda and Mastercard modernise loyalty programmes
• Positive Sentiment: Expanding emerging-market lending tools — Mastercard and iscore will study a new credit-scoring model to power digital lending in Egypt, which could boost network transaction growth and product adoption in MENA. Mastercard and iscore join forces
• Positive Sentiment: Positioning on AI and cybersecurity — CEO commentary and company initiatives highlight leadership in setting AI commerce rules and defensive investments against AI-driven fraud, supporting franchise durability and regulatory positioning. Exclusive: Mastercard moves to set the rules for AI-driven commerce
• Neutral Sentiment: Exploring crypto infrastructure — after acquisition talks, Mastercard is weighing an investment in crypto firm ZeroHash; strategic upside exists but outcome and returns are uncertain. Mastercard weighs investment in ZeroHash
• Neutral Sentiment: Community/brand initiatives — Mastercard showcased its Indigenous Playmaker Marketplace at Scotiabank Arena, reinforcing ESG/community engagement that supports brand and corporate relationships but has limited immediate revenue impact. Inside Mastercard’s Indigenous Playmaker Marketplace
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/policy watch — industry debate over a proposed credit-card interest-rate cap could shift payments economics; networks are less exposed to interest income than banks, so impact on Mastercard is mixed. Jamie Dimon on credit card rate cap
• Negative Sentiment: Operational disruption in Brazil — Brazil’s central bank ordered liquidation of a Banco Master unit and Mastercard temporarily suspended cards, creating near-term payment flow and reputation risk in a key market. Brazil central bank liquidates Banco Master’s Will
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/peer comparison favors Visa — Recent analysis highlights Visa’s scale, margins and lower valuation as advantages, which can pressure sentiment and relative valuation for MA. Visa vs. Mastercard analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Notable investor trimming — reports that value investor Guy Spier sold MA in Q4 can weigh on investor confidence even if motives are fund-specific. 4 Stocks Guy Spier Was Selling

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.