Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its Mastercard stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,355 additional shares and bringing its total to 28,100 shares worth about $16.0 million.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.60 per share topping estimates and revenue rising 15.8% year over year to $8.40 billion.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on the stock, with analysts maintaining an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of about $656, even as the shares recently traded below that level.

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,100 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its network capabilities to support stablecoin, intraday, holiday, and weekend settlement options, which could improve transaction flexibility and keep the company relevant as payments move on-chain. Mastercard Prepares to Expand Network Capabilities for New Settlement Choices
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Mastercard is backing a stealth stablecoin platform alongside Visa, Stripe, and potentially Coinbase, reinforcing the view that the company is trying to shape the future of digital payments rather than be disrupted by them. Mastercard and Visa Back Stealth Stablecoin Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital reaffirmed a Buy rating and set a $631 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence after recent results and new growth initiatives. Benzinga report on Loop Capital rating
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is testing instant cross-currency payments on the TIPS platform and 24/7 on-chain settlement features, which could strengthen its cross-border and real-time payments franchise. Mastercard tests instant cross-currency payments on TIPS platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard reshuffled leadership, naming Ling Hai CFO and moving Sachin Mehra into a new business role; investors will likely view this as a strategic reorganization unless execution concerns emerge. Mastercard names Ling Hai CFO, moves Sachin Mehra to new role
• Negative Sentiment: News that U.S. sanctions are interrupting Visa and Mastercard payments in Cuba highlights a localized geopolitical disruption that could weigh on payment volumes in the region. US sanctions interrupt Visa, Mastercard payments in Cuba

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

MA stock opened at $472.62 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The business's 50-day moving average is $500.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $525.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $417.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

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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