Prudential PLC Grows Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its Mastercard stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 147,613 shares valued at about $84.3 million. Mastercard is now Prudential’s 20th largest holding and makes up 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and overall institutional ownership remains very high at 97.28% of Mastercard’s stock. This suggests continued broad interest from large investors.
• Analysts remain constructive on Mastercard, with Loop Capital reiterating a buy rating and raising its price target to $631. The stock currently carries a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $656.04.

Prudential PLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,527 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Prudential PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Prudential PLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $84,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th 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. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in the 3rd 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. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd 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. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $656.04.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its settlement network to support stablecoins and more continuous transaction processing, which could improve long-term payment volume and keep the company competitive as crypto-based rails gain traction.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Mastercard may participate in a shared stablecoin platform with Stripe, Visa, and Coinbase point to new partnership-driven growth opportunities and broader adoption of Mastercard’s payment infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital reiterated a buy rating and raised its price target to $631, signaling Wall Street confidence in Mastercard’s earnings power and upside potential.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $481.54 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $500.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $525.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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