5 Best Bitcoin and Blockchain Stocks To Buy Now

4. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 139

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), a prominent player in the crypto space, offers transaction processing and a range of payment-related services globally. Through its extensive global network, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is contributing to the accessibility and security of cryptocurrencies for a number of consumers, as well as businesses and governments. The company is actively developing essential capabilities to enhance the security, interoperability, and scalability of transactions within digital asset and blockchain ecosystems, ultimately aiming to facilitate more efficient payment and commerce applications.

On September 19, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) declared a $0.57 per share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. The dividend is to be paid on November 9 to class A shareholders, and on October 9 to class B shareholders.

According to Insider Monkey’s second quarter database, 139 hedge funds were bullish on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), compared to the last quarter when 138 funds had invested in the stock. Charles Akre’s Akre Capital Management held the largest position in the company, with 5.87 million shares worth $2.31 billion.

Baron FinTech Fund made the following comment about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

“We modestly trimmed Visa Inc., Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and Accenture plc to manage the position sizes and raise capital to fund purchases elsewhere. These stocks remain full-sized positions and high-conviction ideas in the Fund.

Another fintech industry trend we’re seeing is a pickup in M&A activity, most notably in the payments sector. The year started with Nuvei’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Paya announced in January. In April, Network International received an initial takeover offer from a group of private equity firms, which was then topped by Brookfield Asset Management whose $2.8 billion offer was accepted by the Board in June. Following reports earlier this year of a bidding war between Visa Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated to acquire cloud-based issuer processor and core banking software provider Pismo.”