Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,119 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $190,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55,868.1% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 13,397,168 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $6,725,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Mastercard by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,580,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 931,132 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,062,509,000 after buying an additional 542,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.27.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE MA opened at $527.65 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $554.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $473.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.07%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised Mastercard’s FY2026 outlook (now $19.03 from $18.80) and issued higher long‑range FY2028 EPS forecasts ($25.10), implying stronger medium‑term earnings growth and supporting valuation. (Zacks estimate revisions reported 2/12–2/13)
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage notes Mastercard’s revenue beat as customers continue to spend — this reinforces the company’s underlying transaction volume strength and supports upside to revenue and fee growth. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) revenue beats forecasts as customers continue to spend
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard announced participation in two March investor conferences — gives management chances to update guidance and reassure investors but is routine. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/strategy coverage discusses Mastercard’s positioning around stablecoins and crypto rails — signals strategic focus on future payments infrastructure but not an immediate earnings swing. Visa and Mastercard Bet Stablecoins Are the Future of Payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard launched knowledge‑sharing exchanges with the Central Bank of Syria under a strategic collaboration framework — a geopolitical / compliance angle to monitor; immediate financial impact appears limited. Mastercard and Central Bank of Syria launch knowledge-sharing exchanges under strategic collaboration framework
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed a handful of 2027 quarterly EPS estimates (Q1, Q2, Q3 2027 and a small FY2027 cut to $21.70 from $21.77), which may pressure short‑term sentiment as investors reassess near‑term margin/timing assumptions. (Zacks estimate revisions reported 2/12–2/13)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also ran a broader piece highlighting Mastercard as a growth stock (style/score discussion) — supportive for longer‑term investor interest but not an immediate catalyst. Here’s Why MasterCard (MA) is a Strong Growth Stock

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.