JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target to $655.00

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $685.00 to $655.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MA. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $668.78.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $538.62 on Friday. Mastercard has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.49. 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 market capitalization of $483.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.83.

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 business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,541,880,000 after buying an additional 13,397,168 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,580,909,000 after buying an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,181,341,000 after acquiring an additional 955,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

More Mastercard News

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 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.