Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 1,281 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,060 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.6% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 13.0% in the second quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.08.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullish thesis: A Seeking Alpha piece reiterates a buy view, arguing Mastercard’s moat, technical strength and resilient business model make it attractive despite regulatory headline risk; the author models limited worst‑case revenue exposure to card‑fee reforms (6–9% of net revenue, modest EPS impact). Mastercard: A Fire To Run Towards
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat potential: Zacks highlights Mastercard’s strong earnings‑surprise history and current setup that could support another beat when the company reports next, which is a potential catalyst for upside if results and guidance stay robust. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Business initiatives: Coverage notes Mastercard’s push to grow “incentive spend” (category‑specific prepaid rewards for fuel, EV charging, groceries) as a way to build steadier network volume — a longer‑term growth lever but not an immediate offset to regulatory shocks. Is Mastercard Turning Incentive Spend Into a Reliable Growth Channel?
• Negative Sentiment: UK legal setback: The U.K. High Court ruled the Payment Systems Regulator can cap cross‑border interchange fees, a direct legal loss for Mastercard (and Visa/Revolut) that creates concrete downside risk to cross‑border fee revenue and investor sentiment in Europe. Mastercard, Visa and Revolut lose UK case over proposed cross-border card fees cap
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. political/regulatory pressure: Renewed U.S. attention — including President Trump’s public comments on fee/rate caps and reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act — has raised headline risk and prompted sector‑wide selling, increasing near‑term volatility for MA shares. Visa and Mastercard stock falls as Trump doubles down on fee crackdown

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MA stock opened at $542.23 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $557.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.66.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.25%.

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.