Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,873 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said consumer spending trends in the Middle East remain solid, which supports the view that cross-border and payments volume remain healthy. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach: Overall spending trends in the Middle East remain solid
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin highlighted the company’s focus on future payment infrastructure, reinforcing investor confidence in Mastercard’s innovation pipeline and long-term growth strategy. Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin on Firm’s Goal to ‘Set the Stage for the Future’
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets argued that Mastercard remains a top long-term growth stock, with continued emphasis on its scale, profitability, and decades of strong stock performance. Why Mastercard (MA) is a top growth stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: News that Increase expanded push-to-card transfers for Mastercard and Visa cards underscores continued adoption of Mastercard-linked payment rails in instant payout and refund use cases. Increase Expands Instant Payment Solutions to Include Push-to-Card Transfers
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles marked Mastercard’s 20-year IPO anniversary and its historical stock gains; these reinforce the company’s strong track record but do not change near-term fundamentals. NYSE Content Update: Mastercard Celebrates Two Decades as NYSE-Listed Company
• Neutral Sentiment: Other pieces compared Mastercard with Visa or highlighted its long-term share-price surge, which is supportive sentiment but not a direct catalyst for the stock today. Mastercard’s stock is up 11,000% since its IPO 20 years ago. What comes next?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader consumer-spending commentary around selective shopping and Memorial Day promotions could signal a more cautious backdrop for payment volumes if discount-driven spending softness persists. Memorial Day Sales Test the Selective Consumer

Mastercard Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $494.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $528.62. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $480.50 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.