SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Invests $1.23 Million in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• SBI Okasan Asset Management opened a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter, buying 2,132 shares worth about $1.23 million.
• Institutional interest in Mastercard remains strong, with several large investors including State Street and Vanguard adding shares; overall, about 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on Mastercard, with an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.04, even after some firms trimmed their targets.

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,132 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,232,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,181,341,000 after purchasing an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $494,110,000 after purchasing an additional 768,514 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,885,944,000 after purchasing an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $289,353,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $656.04.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $493.76 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 firm has a market capitalization of $436.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $501.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $527.80.

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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard received a New York BitLicense, strengthening its ability to pursue regulated digital asset, stablecoin, and blockchain payment initiatives. Mastercard Granted New York State Department of Financial Services BitLicense
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and commentary pieces highlighted Mastercard as a potential beneficiary of inflation and currency debasement trends, pointing to its high-margin payments model and durable global network. Mastercard: The Perfect Hedge Against Currency Debasement And Inflation
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s upcoming conference appearances keep management visible to investors, but these events are unlikely to move the stock on their own. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which may offer strategic updates but does not appear to include a major new catalyst. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript

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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