Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 250,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Arizona State Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $142,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $685.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.63.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings topped expectations — EPS beat, GDV and cross‑border volumes were key drivers of topline and margin strength. Mastercard’s Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong GDV, Cross-Border Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Management laid out strategy beyond cards — investment in agentic commerce and stablecoins as alternative rails, signaling longer‑term revenue opportunities from new payment rails and value‑added services. Mastercard Leans Into Agentic Commerce and Stablecoins While Card Volumes Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded MA to a stronger rating, adding buy‑side momentum after the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald upgrade via Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcripts and highlights are available for detail on guidance and metric cadence (useful for modeling but not a surprise to the market). Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Product mentions and card reviews (Forbes pieces) note Mastercard network adoption on new card products — relevant for network volume over time but not immediately market moving. MBNA True Line Mastercard Review
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard will reduce roughly 4% of its global workforce after a business review — could be read as cost discipline (positive for margins) but introduces execution and morale risks. Mastercard to lay off 4% of its global workforce, CFO says
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and sector‑risk commentary: some analysts and commentators say MA looks expensive, and broader payments/consumer‑spend headwinds or regulatory pressure could cap near‑term upside. Mastercard stock is expensive, but Q4 earnings still warrant a buy
• Negative Sentiment: Investor note on sector risks highlights macro and regulatory uncertainties that could amplify volatility for payments leaders despite strong fundamentals. Investor Outlook: Mastercard earnings underscore sector risks

Mastercard Stock Up 4.3%

MA opened at $543.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $488.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $554.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.55. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.25%.

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.