Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,799 shares to reach 40,592 shares valued at about $23.2 million.
• Mastercard recently won a New York BitLicense, a regulatory milestone that could support the company’s push into cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.60 per share beating estimates and revenue of $8.40 billion topping forecasts; analysts still largely rate the stock a Buy with an average price target of $656.04.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,592 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,799 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in 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 during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard obtained a New York BitLicense, a meaningful regulatory step that could help the company scale its cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure. Mastercard Obtains New York BitLicense for Cryptocurrency Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted the BitLicense win as approval for Mastercard’s digital currency strategy, which may strengthen confidence in future growth from regulated blockchain-based payments. Mastercard wins New York regulatory approval to scale digital currency infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also disclosed it will participate in two investor conferences in June, keeping management visible to investors and offering another forum to discuss strategy and growth initiatives. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Several interviews and commentary pieces featuring Mastercard executives may help maintain investor interest, but they do not appear to include major new financial guidance or operational updates. Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin on Firm’s Goal to ‘Set the Stage for the Future’
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Mastercard as a long-term growth stock and its anniversary as a NYSE-listed company, which are broadly supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $495.41 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $501.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.21. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $480.50 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $437.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus 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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