Legato Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 77.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Mastercard by 8.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 35.8% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,548,000 after acquiring an additional 178,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $431,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MA shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $498.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $529.52. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $480.50 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Key Mastercard News

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

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.