Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,194 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,028 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 4.6% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Mastercard worth $256,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 153.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA grew its stake in Mastercard by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 23,013 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,090,000 after purchasing an additional 7,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 396.3% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard obtained a New York BitLicense, a meaningful regulatory step that could help the company scale its cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure. Mastercard Obtains New York BitLicense for Cryptocurrency Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted the BitLicense win as approval for Mastercard’s digital currency strategy, which may strengthen confidence in future growth from regulated blockchain-based payments. Mastercard wins New York regulatory approval to scale digital currency infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also disclosed it will participate in two investor conferences in June, keeping management visible to investors and offering another forum to discuss strategy and growth initiatives. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Several interviews and commentary pieces featuring Mastercard executives may help maintain investor interest, but they do not appear to include major new financial guidance or operational updates. Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin on Firm’s Goal to ‘Set the Stage for the Future’
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Mastercard as a long-term growth stock and its anniversary as a NYSE-listed company, which are broadly supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5%

Mastercard stock opened at $495.41 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. 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 market capitalization of $437.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $528.21.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

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.