Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,403 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management increased its Mastercard stake by 77.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,403 additional shares and bringing its total to 5,511 shares worth about $3.15 million.
• Mastercard continues to see broad institutional support, with major holders like Vanguard, State Street, and others also adding to positions; roughly 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• The company’s recent news flow is mixed, but mostly positive, including new partnerships in global payments, commercial fleet payments, and emerging markets, even as investors watch for regulatory and competitive pressures in Europe and the UK.

Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 77.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,511 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,612,087,000 after acquiring an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,885,944,000 after acquiring an additional 629,941 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,806,887 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,303,015,000 after acquiring an additional 235,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,658,547 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,218,638,000 after acquiring an additional 339,137 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a partnership with JD.com to expand global payment connectivity and explore agentic AI-powered purchasing solutions, which could support future transaction volume growth and strengthen its digital commerce position. Mastercard (MA) Partners With JD.com To Build Out Global Payment Connectivity And Explore Agentic AI-Powered Purchasing Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also partnered with ryd to launch a digital-first fleet payment operating system in Europe, highlighting continued expansion in commercial payments and acceptance-network usage. Mastercard and Ryd Target Fragmented European Fleet Payments Market
• Positive Sentiment: BMONI and Mastercard said they are partnering to unlock instant card access for consumers in Nigeria, another sign of Mastercard’s continued push into emerging-market digital payments. BMONI and Mastercard Partner to Unlock Instant Card Access for Consumers in Nigeria
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its fintech innovation footprint by launching Mastercard Lighthouse in the UAE with the UAE AI Office, which may help the company identify new payment and AI-related growth opportunities. Mastercard Lighthouse launches in UAE in collaboration with UAE AI Office to accelerate fintech innovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard continues to draw investor attention, but the article is largely a recap rather than a new catalyst. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider reduced their stake, which can attract attention but does not necessarily signal a major change in fundamentals. This Mastercard Insider Reduced Their Stake By 43%
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that UK and European regulators may push for more fee transparency and regional payment alternatives, which could pressure Mastercard’s pricing power and market share. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe's Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: Market chatter that Mastercard is asking Brazilian payment processors to help cover losses tied to Banco Master’s failure may add near-term earnings uncertainty. Market Chatter: Mastercard Asks Brazil's Payment Processors to Help Pay for Banco Master Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Broader headlines about Europe’s payment alliance targeting Visa and Mastercard reinforce competitive and regulatory risks for MA’s network model. Europe's 130-million-user payment alliance takes aim at Visa and Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

MA stock opened at $498.24 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $480.50 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $501.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.00.

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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