Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 6,578 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,591 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,578 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.8% of Townsquare Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 1,961 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 302 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in Mastercard by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 4,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Redburn Partners set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $662.63.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $4.76 (above estimates) and revenue of $8.81B; management pointed to strong gross dollar volume (GDV), cross‑border spending and growth in cybersecurity/value‑added services as the main drivers. Mastercard’s Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong GDV, Cross-Border Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives — management is pushing beyond cards into “agentic commerce” and stablecoins, signaling new rails for payments that could boost long‑term revenue mix and margins if adoption accelerates. Mastercard Leans Into Agentic Commerce and Stablecoins While Card Volumes Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded MA to a “strong‑buy,” providing additional buy‑side support after the quarter. Zacks / Cantor Fitzgerald coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings disclosure and context — transcripts and slide deck detail metrics and management commentary for investors digging into guidance, margin drivers and regional trends. Useful for re‑rating or modeling MA but not an immediate catalyst. Mastercard Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts note MA is richly valued, though others argue the earnings beat and growth profile justify a premium; this fuels mixed near‑term trading. Mastercard stock is expensive, but Q4 earnings still warrant a buy
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce reduction — Mastercard will cut roughly 4% of full‑time employees after a business review, a near‑term cost but also a signal that management is trimming to improve efficiency. Mastercard to lay off 4% of its global workforce, CFO says
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risk — CEO public comments opposing U.S. legislative changes (Credit Card Competition Act) highlight regulatory headwinds that could affect interchange economics or competitive dynamics. Mastercard CEO wades into Trump’s credit card pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/marketing risk — a promotional “reverse ATM” stunt drew criticism for hidden risks, a reminder that brand and trust matter in payments. Mastercard’s ‘reverse ATM’ stunt comes with a hidden risk

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $543.66 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $488.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $554.59 and a 200-day moving average of $564.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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