Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its Mastercard holdings by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 759,584 more shares and bringing its stake to 17.96 million shares worth about $10.26 billion.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.60 beating estimates and revenue rising 15.8% year over year to $8.40 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Mastercard carrying an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $656.04, while recent headlines point to continued growth in spending, open finance, and payment innovation.

Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Capital International Investors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Capital International Investors owned 2.00% of Mastercard worth $10,256,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 54.1% during 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 Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $491.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $499.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $525.11.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s CEO said spending growth has been holding up across all income bands, suggesting consumers remain resilient despite higher gas and food prices. That supports the outlook for payment volume and transaction growth. Mastercard CEO: Spending growth has been happening across all income bands
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its open finance ecosystem through a partnership with PaidBy, adding cross-border open banking payments, local-currency account-to-account transactions, and faster settlement. Can Mastercard Strengthen Its Open Finance Ecosystem With PaidBy?
• Positive Sentiment: News that Mastercard is adding stablecoins and broader settlement windows points to continued innovation in payments infrastructure, which could help the company capture more transaction flows and improve settlement efficiency. Mastercard adds stablecoins to payment settlement system
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s leadership shake-up and AI-focused initiatives suggest management is trying to accelerate fintech growth and modernize the business, which investors may view as supportive of long-term expansion. Mastercard Leadership Shake-Up to Drive Fintech Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Mastercard’s strong value-added services and high-return business model, but this is more of a long-term valuation argument than a direct near-term catalyst. Mastercard: Advanced DuPont Analysis Reveals Value-Added Services Are Built To Skyrocket The Share Price
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard transactions in Cuba are set to be suspended, a reminder that geopolitical and sanctions-related issues can still disrupt some transaction volumes, though the financial impact is likely limited. Visa, Mastercard transactions in Cuba to be suspended, central bank says

About Mastercard

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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