Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.70.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MA traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $520.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,731,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,067,140. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $554.46 and its 200 day moving average is $564.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $467.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its position in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,382,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $789,269,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 42,412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 4,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong?buy,” a near?term vote of confidence from an institutional analyst that can support buying interest. Zacks Cantor Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish Seeking Alpha analysis projects continued double?digit EPS growth (13%–16.5% through 2028) and a fair value near $616, highlighting Mastercard’s high margins and durable transaction growth — a fundamental bullish case for longer?term investors. Mastercard: More Growth Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Product/tech momentum: Mastercard launched an “Agentic AI” suite and is running agent?led payments trials (including partners in Australia), signalling new revenue/efficiency levers and strategic focus on AI-driven payment services. Agentic AI Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional backing appears strong (reported very high institutional ownership), which can reduce volatility from retail flows and indicates confidence from large holders. Institutional Ownership Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings event risk: several outlets flag that Mastercard will report quarterly results tomorrow — the report could be a catalyst for a sharp move either way depending on volume, cross?border trends and guidance. Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market context: Zacks and other outlets note solid fundamentals and projected double?digit growth but warn valuation is elevated, which can cap upside absent strong beats. Zacks Estimates/Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Strategic/ M&A note: a potential takeover target (ZeroHash) reportedly walked away from acquisition talks with Mastercard, which may signal limits to deal activity or missed strategic expansion opportunities. ZeroHash Walkaway
• Negative Sentiment: Recent performance/technical pressure: commentators note MA’s year?to?date underperformance versus prior gains and technical indicators (current price below key moving averages) that can prompt short?term selling or profit?taking. Performance Commentary

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.