Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management increased its Mastercard stake by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, making MA its 10th largest position. The fund now owns 661,889 shares valued at about $377.9 million.
• Mastercard's latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.26 billion expected. Revenue rose 15.8% year over year, underscoring continued business growth.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $656.04. Recent headline catalysts include preliminary approval of a $38 billion swipe-fee settlement and Mastercard’s launch of an AI-focused payment framework, Agent Pay for Machines.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 661,889 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 64,808 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.3% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Mastercard worth $377,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $14,194,000. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Mastercard by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 1,121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $562,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its position in Mastercard by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 4,142 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $489.36 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $499.31 and a 200 day moving average of $523.49. The firm has a market cap of $432.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. Mastercard's revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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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