Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 17,088 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its Mastercard stake by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 17,088 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 120,708 shares worth about $68.9 million.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $4.60 per share versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 15.8% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Mastercard despite some price-target cuts, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of about $656.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,708 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,088 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $68,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $499.31 and a 200 day moving average of $523.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $656.04.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

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 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.

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