Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 21,219 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 276,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,219 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $157,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M), a new payment framework designed to let AI agents and autonomous machines make secure transactions, send micropayments, and settle across multiple payment types. The initiative is backed by more than 30 industry participants and includes crypto and fintech partners, which could open a new growth avenue in AI-powered commerce. Article: Mastercard Introduces Agent Pay for Machines to Enable Autonomous AI Transactions
• Positive Sentiment: A U.S. federal judge gave preliminary approval to Mastercard’s revised $38 billion swipe-fee settlement, moving a decades-long antitrust case closer to resolution. Investors may view this as reducing legal overhang, even though merchants remain unhappy and the final outcome is still pending. Article: Mastercard Incorporated (MA) gains 2% Over Preliminary Judicial Approval of $38 billion Swipe-Fee Settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced leadership changes, including Ling Hai moving into the CFO role and Sachin Mehra taking on a newly created Chief Business Officer position. This is more of a governance update than an immediate operating catalyst. Article: Mastercard announces leadership changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Cuba’s central bank said it will suspend all Visa and Mastercard transactions there after a processing partnership collapsed under U.S. sanctions pressure. The direct financial impact appears limited, but it highlights ongoing geopolitical and payment-network disruptions. Article: Cuba’s Central Bank to Suspend all Visa and Mastercard Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary on Mastercard’s valuation notes that the stock has been under pressure over the past months and remains below key moving averages, suggesting investors are still cautious despite the positive news flow. Article: A Look At Mastercard (MA) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $499.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $523.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.