Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $656.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

MA has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.78.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $538.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $554.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.07%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Robbins Farley lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported stronger‑than‑expected EPS and revenue, with growth in gross dollar volume, cross‑border spending and cybersecurity/value‑added services, supporting the case for durable revenue growth. Zacks Q4 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Macquarie raised its price target to $675 and kept an “outperform” rating — another vote of confidence that supports upside expectations. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen nudged its target higher to $671 and maintains a “buy” — adds to the cluster of bullish analyst views following the print. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed its “outperform” rating with a $656 target — another supportive analyst anchor above the current price. TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its target from $685 to $655 but kept an “overweight” rating — slightly less bullish upside than before, but still constructive overall. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Management outlined strategic moves into agentic commerce and stablecoins — promising long‑term optionality but uncertain near‑term revenue impact. PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard will cut about 4% of full‑time employees after a business review — a near‑term cost action that can boost margins but may signal internal pressure or slower growth in some areas. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and sector risk commentary (including discussion of potential card legislation and broader sector headwinds) adds uncertainty to valuation and investor risk appetite. BNN Bloomberg

About Mastercard

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.