Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Key Points

• Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its Mastercard stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, owning 334,260 shares worth about $190.8 million at quarter-end.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.60 versus estimates of $4.41 and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 15.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock has a “Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $656.04, despite some recent pullbacks and a premium valuation.

Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,260 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,660 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.2% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $190,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc raised its stake 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 buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s BitLicense approval strengthens its ability to build regulated digital asset, stablecoin, and blockchain-based payment infrastructure, which investors may see as a long-term growth opportunity. Mastercard BitLicense Approval Opens New Chapter In Digital Assets And Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Mastercard is well positioned in the stablecoin battle, alongside peers like SoFi, Block, and Robinhood, highlights the company’s relevance in a fast-growing payments trend. How Mastercard, SoFi, Block are heating up the stablecoin battle
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Mastercard despite recent relative underperformance versus fintech peers, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside in the stock’s fundamentals and franchise strength. How Is Mastercard's Stock Performance Compared to Other FinTech Stocks?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation-focused commentary notes Mastercard has pulled back from recent highs and trades at a premium multiple, which may keep some investors cautious even as the long-term outlook remains constructive. Mastercard (MA) Valuation Check After Recent Pullback And Premium P/E Multiple
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced upcoming investor conference appearances, which is routine corporate communication rather than a major operating update. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA opened at $494.45 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $480.50 and a 12 month high of $601.77. 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 cap of $436.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $501.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $527.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.04.

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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