LM Advisors LLC Sells 1,728 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

LM Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,728 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of LM Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the third quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,343,000 after acquiring an additional 36,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,328,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $432.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $499.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $523.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm 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, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M), a new payment framework designed to let AI agents and autonomous machines make secure transactions, send micropayments, and settle across multiple payment types. The initiative is backed by more than 30 industry participants and includes crypto and fintech partners, which could open a new growth avenue in AI-powered commerce. Article: Mastercard Introduces Agent Pay for Machines to Enable Autonomous AI Transactions
• Positive Sentiment: A U.S. federal judge gave preliminary approval to Mastercard’s revised $38 billion swipe-fee settlement, moving a decades-long antitrust case closer to resolution. Investors may view this as reducing legal overhang, even though merchants remain unhappy and the final outcome is still pending. Article: Mastercard Incorporated (MA) gains 2% Over Preliminary Judicial Approval of $38 billion Swipe-Fee Settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced leadership changes, including Ling Hai moving into the CFO role and Sachin Mehra taking on a newly created Chief Business Officer position. This is more of a governance update than an immediate operating catalyst. Article: Mastercard announces leadership changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Cuba’s central bank said it will suspend all Visa and Mastercard transactions there after a processing partnership collapsed under U.S. sanctions pressure. The direct financial impact appears limited, but it highlights ongoing geopolitical and payment-network disruptions. Article: Cuba’s Central Bank to Suspend all Visa and Mastercard Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary on Mastercard’s valuation notes that the stock has been under pressure over the past months and remains below key moving averages, suggesting investors are still cautious despite the positive news flow. Article: A Look At Mastercard (MA) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness

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.