Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Buys 1,786 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Mastercard Trading Down 3.4%

MA stock opened at $483.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $431.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $519.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.81.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding merchant acceptance and digital payments infrastructure across Africa, supporting long‑term volume growth and cross‑border transaction opportunities. Mastercard is driving digital economy growth in Africa by boosting acceptance network
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive commentary highlights investment in digital trust and cybersecurity—an operational positive for enterprise customers but unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially. In the next frontier of technology, digital trust is the new foundation
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets report Mastercard has hired bankers to explore selling the Nets real‑time payments unit it acquired for ~$3.2B in 2019. Investors fear this could signal a strategic retreat from European instant‑payments infrastructure, create execution uncertainty, and weigh on growth expectations even if the sale would raise cash or refocus capital. Mastercard looks to unwind biggest ever acquisition Mastercard explores sale of payments unit it bought from Nets in 2019, FT reports Mastercard Explores Divestiture of Nets Real-Time Payments Unit
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: the FTC has warned major payment processors, including Mastercard, against politically or religiously motivated “debanking”—adding compliance and reputational risk that could invite scrutiny or operational constraints. FTC Issues Warnings to Payment Processors Against ‘Debanking’
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in Europe: the European Payments Initiative (Wero) is gaining momentum as banks seek alternatives to U.S. card rails—this poses a medium‑term threat to transaction volumes in key markets. European Payments Initiative CEO says Trump fears are boosting its appeal
• Negative Sentiment: Peer moves (e.g., American Express pushing AI and new cash‑back offerings) increase product competition for customer wallet share and merchant relationships. American Express Bets Big on AI, Cash Back in 2026 Push

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. HSBC upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $667.88.

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.