10,517 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Purchased by AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.

Key Points

• AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. bought 10,517 shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter, a new position valued at about $6.0 million. The stake makes Mastercard its 7th largest holding and 2.6% of its portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Mastercard remains strong, with several other funds increasing their positions and 97.28% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Mastercard, with an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $656.04, even as some firms recently trimmed their targets.

AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,517 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,004,000. Mastercard accounts for 2.6% of AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $130,902,000 after buying an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,343,000 after buying an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,328,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $432.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $499.31 and a 200-day moving average of $523.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, 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 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 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.

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