Apella Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Mastercard by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Betterment LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 35.8% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a new partnership with SAIT to expand cybersecurity training for small businesses, non-profits, and social enterprises in Western Canada, reinforcing its brand and community investment while potentially supporting future digital payment adoption. Article: New SAIT and Mastercard partnership targets cybersecurity gaps facing Canada’s small businesses and non-profits
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard continues to be viewed as a high-margin, long-runway payments leader, with articles highlighting its recurring toll-like revenue model and durable position in the global payments duopoly. Article: Mastercard vs. PayPal: Which Financial Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also expanding digital B2B payments through a new HSBC mobile virtual card solution, which could help deepen transaction volume in a growing enterprise payments segment. Article: HSBC and Mastercard accelerate growth of digital B2B payments with launch of mobile virtual card solution
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Mastercard with Visa and PayPal generally reinforces that Mastercard remains a strong business, but these pieces were more comparative than catalyst-driven and do not point to a major near-term change in fundamentals. Article: Mastercard vs. Visa: What Comparing Revenue Trends Tells Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s “Agent Pay” push and broader AI-commerce messaging suggest continued product innovation, but the immediate financial impact is still unclear. Article: Mastercard CMO Jill Kramer unveils ‘Agent Pay’ to secure AI commerce
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh EU pressure tied to digital euro plans could increase competitive and regulatory risk for Mastercard in Europe if policymakers favor public or European payment alternatives. Article: Mastercard (MA) Faces Fresh EU Pressure As Digital Euro Plans Advance

Mastercard Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:MA opened at $494.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $436.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $520.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.08.

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.