National Pension Service Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,574,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 54,551 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $895,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Curio Wealth LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 22,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $175,872,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 7,215 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,694.7% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,288,000 after buying an additional 9,052 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after acquiring an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MA. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.78.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported stronger‑than‑expected EPS and revenue, with growth in gross dollar volume, cross‑border spending and cybersecurity/value‑added services, supporting the case for durable revenue growth. Zacks Q4 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Macquarie raised its price target to $675 and kept an “outperform” rating — another vote of confidence that supports upside expectations. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen nudged its target higher to $671 and maintains a “buy” — adds to the cluster of bullish analyst views following the print. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed its “outperform” rating with a $656 target — another supportive analyst anchor above the current price. TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its target from $685 to $655 but kept an “overweight” rating — slightly less bullish upside than before, but still constructive overall. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Management outlined strategic moves into agentic commerce and stablecoins — promising long‑term optionality but uncertain near‑term revenue impact. PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard will cut about 4% of full‑time employees after a business review — a near‑term cost action that can boost margins but may signal internal pressure or slower growth in some areas. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and sector risk commentary (including discussion of potential card legislation and broader sector headwinds) adds uncertainty to valuation and investor risk appetite. BNN Bloomberg

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $538.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $554.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $564.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The company 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%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 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.