Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 2,750 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 666,119 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,750 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $378,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 45.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point analyst upgrade and higher price target lift sentiment for MA; the firm moved Mastercard from Neutral to Buy and raised its target (reported via TheFly / InsiderMonkey), supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks previews next week’s earnings and expects Mastercard to have the attributes for an earnings beat, which could be a catalyst if results and guidance exceed market forecasts. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s partnership with Agoda enables instant travel redemptions in loyalty programs, accelerating experience-driven, digital-first rewards—potentially increasing cardholder engagement and merchant/issuer revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and premium-placement news: ONEflight International becomes the Official Private Aviation Partner of the McLaren‑Mastercard F1 Team—high-visibility partnership that supports Mastercard’s premium/brand strategy. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product/acceptance expansion: Phuket Smart Bus adds contactless card payments with Mastercard—incremental adoption in tourism markets supports transaction volume growth in travel-related corridors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing leadership changes: Mastercard named Alexandra Sloane VP of integrated marketing & communications and also appointed an Optus executive as VP of marketing/comms (Australia). These hires support brand/communications execution but are unlikely to move fundamentals near‑term. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine calendar item: Mastercard is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Thursday—investors are positioning ahead of the print, increasing sensitivity to any guidance or beats/misses. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/partner risk: London fintech Guavapay’s founder resigned ahead of a court battle with Mastercard—this could indicate localized legal or reputational frictions, though direct financial impact appears limited at this stage. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.24.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $524.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $554.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.33.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 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.