Auxier Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Auxier Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,519 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,135 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.6% of Auxier Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Auxier Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Align Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,103,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 123,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,372,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $783,587,000 after acquiring an additional 68,361 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $654,000. Finally, GAM Holding AG increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 28,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its cross-border payments footprint through a new partnership involving PaidBy and joined the Appia Foundation, reinforcing its growth opportunity in international payments. Mastercard (MA) Expands Cross Border Payments With PaidBy And Joins Appia Foundation
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.87 per share, signaling ongoing financial strength and a continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders. Mastercard Board of Directors Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Management commentary on consumer spending suggests households are still navigating the economy well, which is important for Mastercard because transaction volume tends to track consumer activity. Consumers are doing well in navigating the current economic environment, says Mastercard’s Meyer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-style coverage highlighted Mastercard as a top-ranked momentum stock, reflecting continued market interest in the company’s earnings quality and durable growth profile. MasterCard (MA) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s annual meeting results were released, but the filing appears routine and does not include an obvious new catalyst for the stock. Mastercard Announces Annual Meeting Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Mastercard executives’ views on AI, marketing, and “agentic commerce,” which are strategically interesting but mostly long-term narrative drivers rather than immediate stock catalysts. Why Agentic Commerce Could Be a Game-Changer for Mastercard

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $492.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $499.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $435.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 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 is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.14%.

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.