Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,185 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Bearing Point Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC now owns 8,998 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,137,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 75.4% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $485,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $631.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $494.45 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 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’s 50-day moving average is $501.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $527.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s BitLicense approval strengthens its ability to build regulated digital asset, stablecoin, and blockchain-based payment infrastructure, which investors may see as a long-term growth opportunity. Mastercard BitLicense Approval Opens New Chapter In Digital Assets And Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Mastercard is well positioned in the stablecoin battle, alongside peers like SoFi, Block, and Robinhood, highlights the company’s relevance in a fast-growing payments trend. How Mastercard, SoFi, Block are heating up the stablecoin battle
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Mastercard despite recent relative underperformance versus fintech peers, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside in the stock’s fundamentals and franchise strength. How Is Mastercard’s Stock Performance Compared to Other FinTech Stocks?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation-focused commentary notes Mastercard has pulled back from recent highs and trades at a premium multiple, which may keep some investors cautious even as the long-term outlook remains constructive. Mastercard (MA) Valuation Check After Recent Pullback And Premium P/E Multiple
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced upcoming investor conference appearances, which is routine corporate communication rather than a major operating update. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

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.