Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Close Asset Management Ltd

Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 31.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,869 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.5% of Close Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Close Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $112,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 153.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $175,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew 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 worth $8,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,694.7% during 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. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Truist Financial set a $611.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $669.27.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0%

Mastercard stock opened at $514.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $546.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $559.97. The firm has a market cap of $458.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.