Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 367,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,875 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $183,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,089,000 after buying an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $1,328,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $15,699,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.65.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its virtual card platform with new security controls, single-API access, and broader embedded payments capabilities, which could support more B2B transaction volume and deepen relationships with banks and businesses. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also pushing into the creator economy with a new business debit card partnership, suggesting continued expansion into newer customer segments and additional payment use cases. Mastercard puts its cards on creators with a new business debit card
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still sees room for earnings growth ahead of Mastercard’s upcoming report, and the stock continues to be viewed as a high-margin “payments-tech” compounder. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target to $554 from $561 but kept a Buy rating, which signals slightly less upside than before without changing the overall bullish stance. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s positioning in agentic AI, virtual cards, and the creator economy, but these are largely strategic updates rather than immediate financial catalysts. Sunrate and Mastercard Release White Paper on Agentic AI and the Future of B2B Global Payments
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern around capex spending and the tech sell-off could create some near-term pressure on valuation multiples, even though Mastercard is not a direct AI infrastructure spender. Capex fears trigger biggest Tech sell-off since ‘Liberation Day’

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $539.48 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $508.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $476.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

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.