Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 1,775 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 277,878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.8% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $138,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its virtual card platform with new security controls, single-API access, and broader embedded payments capabilities, which could support more B2B transaction volume and deepen relationships with banks and businesses. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also pushing into the creator economy with a new business debit card partnership, suggesting continued expansion into newer customer segments and additional payment use cases. Mastercard puts its cards on creators with a new business debit card
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still sees room for earnings growth ahead of Mastercard’s upcoming report, and the stock continues to be viewed as a high-margin “payments-tech” compounder. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target to $554 from $561 but kept a Buy rating, which signals slightly less upside than before without changing the overall bullish stance. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s positioning in agentic AI, virtual cards, and the creator economy, but these are largely strategic updates rather than immediate financial catalysts. Sunrate and Mastercard Release White Paper on Agentic AI and the Future of B2B Global Payments
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern around capex spending and the tech sell-off could create some near-term pressure on valuation multiples, even though Mastercard is not a direct AI infrastructure spender. Capex fears trigger biggest Tech sell-off since ‘Liberation Day’

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $539.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $508.29 and a 200-day moving average of $515.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $476.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

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.