Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 218,899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,672 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $124,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $494.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $501.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $527.57. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $480.50 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released 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. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $631.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.