BNP Paribas Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• BNP Paribas cut its Mastercard stake by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,424 shares and leaving it with 35,256 shares valued at about $20.1 million.
• Mastercard’s recent business and analyst news remains constructive, with TD Cowen reiterating a Buy rating and $671 price target after Q1 results showed 12% net revenue growth.
• The company beat first-quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.26 billion expected, while shares were up 0.4% to $496.08 in Tuesday trading.

BNP Paribas trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,256 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 12,424 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas' holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 20.0% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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. Six equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $496.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $480.50 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $501.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

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.