Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management reduced its Mastercard stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,924 shares and leaving it with 271,732 shares worth about $155.5 million.
• Mastercard shares were up 2.3% to $505.39, with the company carrying a market value of roughly $446.6 billion and trading near its 50-day average but below its 200-day average.
• Mastercard beat quarterly expectations, posting $4.60 EPS on $8.40 billion in revenue, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $656.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,924 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.7% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $155,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 250.0% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.3%

Mastercard stock opened at $505.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $502.92 and a 200 day moving average of $530.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. 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 research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $656.00.

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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