Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,164 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,944 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.6% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Mastercard by 1.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 143,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 4,235 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,409,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,031,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,928,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 16,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,380,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $524.67 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market cap of $471.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $554.82 and a 200-day moving average of $565.35.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Compass Point upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $661.24.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point analyst upgrade and higher price target lift sentiment for MA; the firm moved Mastercard from Neutral to Buy and raised its target (reported via TheFly / InsiderMonkey), supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks previews next week’s earnings and expects Mastercard to have the attributes for an earnings beat, which could be a catalyst if results and guidance exceed market forecasts. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s partnership with Agoda enables instant travel redemptions in loyalty programs, accelerating experience-driven, digital-first rewards—potentially increasing cardholder engagement and merchant/issuer revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and premium-placement news: ONEflight International becomes the Official Private Aviation Partner of the McLaren?Mastercard F1 Team—high-visibility partnership that supports Mastercard’s premium/brand strategy. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product/acceptance expansion: Phuket Smart Bus adds contactless card payments with Mastercard—incremental adoption in tourism markets supports transaction volume growth in travel-related corridors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing leadership changes: Mastercard named Alexandra Sloane VP of integrated marketing & communications and also appointed an Optus executive as VP of marketing/comms (Australia). These hires support brand/communications execution but are unlikely to move fundamentals near?term. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine calendar item: Mastercard is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Thursday—investors are positioning ahead of the print, increasing sensitivity to any guidance or beats/misses. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/partner risk: London fintech Guavapay’s founder resigned ahead of a court battle with Mastercard—this could indicate localized legal or reputational frictions, though direct financial impact appears limited at this stage. Read More.

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.