Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 3,031 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 103,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $58,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,433,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors grew its stake in Mastercard by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Mastercard by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 197,878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $112,515,000 after acquiring an additional 46,869 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 215,429 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $122,538,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Compass Point raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $669.27.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0%

MA opened at $514.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $458.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $546.14 and its 200-day moving average is $559.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major product rollout — MetaMask Card goes broadly live in the U.S., letting users pay with crypto anywhere Mastercard is accepted and keeping assets self-custodial; the launch includes on-chain rewards and availability in New York, which strengthens Mastercard’s position in crypto payments. Mastercard Brings MetaMask Crypto Payments to US Shoppers
• Positive Sentiment: Wider MetaMask partnership rollout reported across U.S. issuances and card programs — multiple outlets note the MetaMask–Mastercard card and debit-like product expansion, reinforcing expected volume and fee capture from crypto-native spend. MetaMask expands Mastercard crypto card across the US
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic hiring for crypto and DeFi — Mastercard is recruiting a Director of Crypto Flows to lead stablecoin card launches and DeFi integrations, signaling deeper commitment to digital-asset revenue streams. This hiring was flagged across industry outlets and suggests ongoing product investment rather than a beta experiment. Mastercard Seeks Director of Crypto Flows as Payments Giant Deepens Digital Asset Push
• Positive Sentiment: Regional growth partnership — Mastercard signed a deal to accelerate digital payments in Tanzania, supporting geographic expansion and payment volume growth in underpenetrated markets. (Mastercard, Tananian firm partner to fast-track the transformation of digital payment)
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor divestiture — Mastercard sold SessionM to Capillary Technologies for $20 million; small proceeds and focus on core payments/crypto strategy may be viewed as portfolio simplification rather than material to earnings. Capillary Technologies acquires SessionM from Mastercard for $20 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased investor attention — Zacks highlights strong retail interest in MA stock, which can amplify intraday moves but doesn’t signal fundamental changes by itself. Investors Heavily Search Mastercard Incorporated (MA): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure — European payment apps are explicitly targeting Visa/Mastercard dominance in retail payments; new local rails or fintechs could pressure merchant fees or market share in certain regions over time. European payment app targets Visa, Mastercard dominance with retail-payments push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/industry skepticism — A critical report (Citrini) warned of potential issues for Mastercard if crypto traction stalls; timing of hires and expansion invites scrutiny about whether crypto efforts will be accretive or costly. Mastercard Hires for Crypto Just as Citrini Warns It Could Be Obsolete

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.