Mastercard Incorporated $MA is William Blair Investment Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Posted by Francis Steltz on May 24th, 2026

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,084,947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20,398 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.7% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $619,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,389,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $1,256,000. Shelter Rock Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $2,518,000. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $424,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.00.

View Our Latest Report on Mastercard

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $498.24 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $480.50 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $440.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $501.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $529.52.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a partnership with JD.com to expand global payment connectivity and explore agentic AI-powered purchasing solutions, which could support future transaction volume growth and strengthen its digital commerce position. Mastercard (MA) Partners With JD.com To Build Out Global Payment Connectivity And Explore Agentic AI-Powered Purchasing Solutions
Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also partnered with ryd to launch a digital-first fleet payment operating system in Europe, highlighting continued expansion in commercial payments and acceptance-network usage. Mastercard and Ryd Target Fragmented European Fleet Payments Market
Positive Sentiment: BMONI and Mastercard said they are partnering to unlock instant card access for consumers in Nigeria, another sign of Mastercard’s continued push into emerging-market digital payments. BMONI and Mastercard Partner to Unlock Instant Card Access for Consumers in Nigeria
Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its fintech innovation footprint by launching Mastercard Lighthouse in the UAE with the UAE AI Office, which may help the company identify new payment and AI-related growth opportunities. Mastercard Lighthouse launches in UAE in collaboration with UAE AI Office to accelerate fintech innovation
Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard continues to draw investor attention, but the article is largely a recap rather than a new catalyst. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
Neutral Sentiment: An insider reduced their stake, which can attract attention but does not necessarily signal a major change in fundamentals. This Mastercard Insider Reduced Their Stake By 43%
Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that UK and European regulators may push for more fee transparency and regional payment alternatives, which could pressure Mastercard’s pricing power and market share. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe’s Moves?
Negative Sentiment: Market chatter that Mastercard is asking Brazilian payment processors to help cover losses tied to Banco Master’s failure may add near-term earnings uncertainty. Market Chatter: Mastercard Asks Brazil’s Payment Processors to Help Pay for Banco Master Failure
Negative Sentiment: Broader headlines about Europe’s payment alliance targeting Visa and Mastercard reinforce competitive and regulatory risks for MA’s network model. Europe’s 130-million-user payment alliance takes aim at Visa and Mastercard

About Mastercard

(Free Report)

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.