Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 674,519 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 30,359 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.5% of Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $385,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during 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 buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $496.08 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $438.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $501.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $526.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $480.50 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating on Mastercard with a $671 price target, citing Q1 results that showed 12% net revenue growth and reinforcing a constructive view on the company’s growth outlook. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Mastercard (MA) After Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard joined a European cross-border instant payments pilot with the central banks of Denmark and Sweden, a move that highlights continued expansion in faster payments and could support long-term transaction growth. Mastercard Joins European Cross-Border Instant Payments Pilot
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also rolled out new AI-powered fraud and merchant-trust tools, which should help strengthen network security and reduce fraud-related losses over time. Mastercard Tightens Fraud Rules And AI Tools As Share Price Slips
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor commentary pieces argued Mastercard screens attractively after a year of underperformance, suggesting valuation support but not a near-term catalyst by itself. Visa at $326, Mastercard at $493: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard was mentioned in a report about Berkshire Hathaway removing the stock from its portfolio, which may create some headline pressure, though the impact on fundamentals appears limited. Another fintech giant gets the pink slip from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire

Mastercard 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.