Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 168,364 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $83,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Betterment LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s CEO said spending growth has been holding up across all income bands, suggesting consumers remain resilient despite higher gas and food prices. That supports the outlook for payment volume and transaction growth. Mastercard CEO: Spending growth has been happening across all income bands
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its open finance ecosystem through a partnership with PaidBy, adding cross-border open banking payments, local-currency account-to-account transactions, and faster settlement. Can Mastercard Strengthen Its Open Finance Ecosystem With PaidBy?
• Positive Sentiment: News that Mastercard is adding stablecoins and broader settlement windows points to continued innovation in payments infrastructure, which could help the company capture more transaction flows and improve settlement efficiency. Mastercard adds stablecoins to payment settlement system
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s leadership shake-up and AI-focused initiatives suggest management is trying to accelerate fintech growth and modernize the business, which investors may view as supportive of long-term expansion. Mastercard Leadership Shake-Up to Drive Fintech Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Mastercard’s strong value-added services and high-return business model, but this is more of a long-term valuation argument than a direct near-term catalyst. Mastercard: Advanced DuPont Analysis Reveals Value-Added Services Are Built To Skyrocket The Share Price
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard transactions in Cuba are set to be suspended, a reminder that geopolitical and sanctions-related issues can still disrupt some transaction volumes, though the financial impact is likely limited. Visa, Mastercard transactions in Cuba to be suspended, central bank says

Mastercard Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $491.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $499.81 and a 200-day moving average of $525.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.