Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,352 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.00.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was included in Zacks’ list of transaction stocks to watch, with the note that contactless payments, BNPL, and cross-border payment growth continue to support the industry’s outlook. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon launched new business credit cards issued by U.S. Bank on the Mastercard network, which adds another branded-card use case and supports transaction volume for Mastercard. Amazon’s New Prime Business and Amazon Business Credit Cards, Powered by U.S. Bank and Mastercard®, Are Now Available with Enhanced Rewards and Flexible Financing
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard appeared in several analyst and market-research items, including a Truist price-target cut to $561 while keeping a buy rating, and other general commentary that did not materially change the company’s operating outlook. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Cut to $561.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag came from news that the U.S. government opened an inquiry into Brazil’s PIX instant-payments system, raising concerns that low-cost government-backed rails could bypass Mastercard and other card networks and pressure future cross-border transaction growth. U.S. PIX Inquiry Puts Mastercard Growth And Valuation In Focus

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $490.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $504.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $480.50 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $433.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.