MUFG Securities EMEA plc Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc cut its Mastercard stake by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,185 shares and leaving it with 33,615 shares valued at about $19.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 97.28% of Mastercard’s stock. Several other funds increased positions during the period.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.26 billion expected, while revenue rose 15.8% year over year.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,615 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,185 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 153.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longbow Finance SA raised its stake in Mastercard by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 23,013 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,090,000 after acquiring an additional 7,704 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MA opened at $494.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $480.50 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $501.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $527.57.

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. The company 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%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.73 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

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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