Mastercard Incorporated $MA Position Reduced by Marathon Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Marathon Asset Management reduced its Mastercard stake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,441 shares and leaving it with 67,456 shares valued at about $38.4 million.
• Despite that trim, Mastercard remains heavily owned by institutions, with 97.28% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Mastercard has a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $656, while the company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates in its latest report.

Marathon Asset Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,456 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,441 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.5% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $38,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Matisse Capital lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the third quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 1,348 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% in the third quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.00.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard highlighted a new Merchant Trust Services initiative designed to help banks and payment companies identify legitimate merchants and reduce scam activity, which could strengthen its fraud-prevention value proposition and deepen ties with issuers and merchants. Mastercard Intros Strategy to Ferret Out Scam Merchants
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and JD.com expanded their partnership to improve cross-border payments infrastructure and payment experiences for travelers in China, a sign of continued international growth opportunities and stronger network usage. Mastercard, JD.com team up to expand payments infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was recognized by the Organization of American States and The Trust for the Americas with the 2025 Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award, reinforcing its brand and social-impact profile. The Trust for the Americas and the Organization of American States Present the 2025 Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award to Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard presented at J.P. Morgan’s technology, media and communications conference, which usually reinforces management’s strategic messaging but did not include a major new financial catalyst in the provided details. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Presents at J.P. Morgan 54th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: BDO and Mastercard marked 20 years of remittance and OFW-serving partnership in the Philippines, underscoring steady international business relationships. BDO, Mastercard mark 20 years of remittance partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Mastercard as a strong payments network versus Visa and noted ongoing cross-border and issuer-related opportunities, but these were more commentary than fresh catalysts. Visa vs Mastercard. The Numbers Just Told Us Which Network Is Pulling Away
• Negative Sentiment: Truist reportedly lowered its price target on Mastercard, which can weigh on sentiment by signaling more limited upside from current levels. Truist Lowers PT on Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway said it is exiting its Mastercard position as part of a broader portfolio overhaul, a headline that may pressure the stock despite not changing Mastercard’s underlying operations. Berkshire Hathaway Overhauls Portfolio Under Greg Abel As Valuation Signals Undervaluation

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $499.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $441.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $502.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $530.50. 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 twelve month low of $480.50 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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.