AE Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,728 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $74,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of 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 firm has a market cap of $468.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $554.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.58. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given 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 yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.25%.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.70.

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.