Norden Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Norden Group LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Norden Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $667.88.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MA opened at $500.52 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $521.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $548.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas upgraded MA to Outperform with a $600 price target, reinforcing upside expectations from analysts and giving short-term support to the stock. BNP Paribas Upgrades Mastercard
• Positive Sentiment: Research/coverage notes highlight Mastercard’s evolving crypto strategy (stablecoin work, BVNK acquisition) and cluster of high analyst targets, which could boost long-term growth expectations if execution continues. Mastercard Narrative Evolving With Crypto Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: FT/Reuters report says Mastercard is exploring a sale of the real-time payments unit it bought from Nets in 2019 — a portfolio move that could unlock cash/value but also signals strategic reshaping that investors will scrutinize. Mastercard Explores Sale of Payments Unit
• Neutral Sentiment: A valuation check piece notes that share momentum has cooled versus strong profitability metrics (large revenue/net income base), keeping the debate active between growth fundamentals and near-term momentum. Mastercard Valuation Check
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC has sent warnings to major payment processors (including Mastercard) about denying customers access to services for political/religious views — raising regulatory/compliance risk and potential reputational/legal costs. FTC Issues Warnings to Payment Processors
• Negative Sentiment: Expansion of the European Payments Initiative (Wero) as a regional alternative to Mastercard/Visa is being promoted by banks concerned about U.S. policy risks — a developing competitive threat for European volumes/fees. European Payments Initiative CEO Says Trump Fears Are Boosting Its Appeal

Mastercard 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.