Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 1,275 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,058 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $29,000. 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $664.40.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is targeting small- and medium‑business (SMB) spend through Amazon’s ecosystem by embedding U.S. Bank‑issued Mastercard cards and payments into merchant workflows to capture repeat purchases and data-driven engagement. This deal directly increases transaction volume exposure and merchant/SMB wallet share. Can Mastercard Capture SMB Spend Through Amazon’s Ecosystem?
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party fintechs and stablecoin rails are increasingly using Mastercard’s network (e.g., recent stablecoin card platforms), underscoring upside from crypto infrastructure partnerships and new payments rails that can drive volume and fee growth. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Considering Real Payment Unit Divestment amid Stablecoin & Blockchain Infrastructure Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital has initiated coverage on Mastercard, which can increase analyst attention and liquidity; impact depends on the rating and target they publish. Loop Capital Initiates Coverage on Mastercard (NYSE:MA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is reported to be weighing a sale of a European “real payment” unit it bought in 2019 (roughly $370M revenue, $100M earnings), signaling a strategic refocus toward higher‑growth blockchain/stablecoin infrastructure — could be value‑creative or reduce recurring revenue, depending on deal terms. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Considering Real Payment Unit Divestment amid Stablecoin & Blockchain Infrastructure Focus
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC has contacted major payment providers, including Mastercard, to probe “debanking” practices — regulatory scrutiny could lead to compliance costs, reputational risk, or operational constraints. FTC probes debanking practices at PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard
• Negative Sentiment: Policy proposals to cap credit‑card interest rates (e.g., a 10% cap highlighted in recent analysis) could shrink credit access, reduce interchange/rewards economics, and pressure issuer volumes and fee income if enacted. Credit card interest rate cap could reduce access for over 100 million Americans, analysis finds
• Negative Sentiment: Rule changes in markets like Australia (plans to ban surcharges) and broader merchant pricing shifts could compress merchant‑facing revenue dynamics and interchange pass‑throughs. Amazon Deal And Rule Changes Put Mastercard Valuation In Fresh Focus

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

MA stock opened at $493.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $516.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $545.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

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.