Allen Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management LLC cut its Mastercard stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 32,246 shares worth about $18.4 million.
• Mastercard’s stock was trading near $496, close to its 52-week low of $480.50 and below its 200-day moving average, even as the company maintained a large $438.3 billion market cap.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.60 EPS on $8.40 billion in revenue, while analysts still broadly remain positive with a Buy consensus and a $656.04 average price target.

Allen Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,246 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,222 shares during the period. Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

MA opened at $496.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $438.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $480.50 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $501.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating on Mastercard with a $671 price target, citing Q1 results that showed 12% net revenue growth and reinforcing a constructive view on the company’s growth outlook. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Mastercard (MA) After Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard joined a European cross-border instant payments pilot with the central banks of Denmark and Sweden, a move that highlights continued expansion in faster payments and could support long-term transaction growth. Mastercard Joins European Cross-Border Instant Payments Pilot
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also rolled out new AI-powered fraud and merchant-trust tools, which should help strengthen network security and reduce fraud-related losses over time. Mastercard Tightens Fraud Rules And AI Tools As Share Price Slips
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor commentary pieces argued Mastercard screens attractively after a year of underperformance, suggesting valuation support but not a near-term catalyst by itself. Visa at $326, Mastercard at $493: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard was mentioned in a report about Berkshire Hathaway removing the stock from its portfolio, which may create some headline pressure, though the impact on fundamentals appears limited. Another fintech giant gets the pink slip from Warren Buffett's Berkshire

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price 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. Six 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.04.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.