GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 483,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 184,164 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 7.4% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Mastercard worth $275,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $631.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.04.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s BitLicense approval strengthens its ability to build regulated digital asset, stablecoin, and blockchain-based payment infrastructure, which investors may see as a long-term growth opportunity. Mastercard BitLicense Approval Opens New Chapter In Digital Assets And Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Mastercard is well positioned in the stablecoin battle, alongside peers like SoFi, Block, and Robinhood, highlights the company’s relevance in a fast-growing payments trend. How Mastercard, SoFi, Block are heating up the stablecoin battle
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Mastercard despite recent relative underperformance versus fintech peers, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside in the stock’s fundamentals and franchise strength. How Is Mastercard’s Stock Performance Compared to Other FinTech Stocks?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation-focused commentary notes Mastercard has pulled back from recent highs and trades at a premium multiple, which may keep some investors cautious even as the long-term outlook remains constructive. Mastercard (MA) Valuation Check After Recent Pullback And Premium P/E Multiple
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced upcoming investor conference appearances, which is routine corporate communication rather than a major operating update. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $494.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $480.50 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $501.23 and its 200-day moving average is $527.57.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

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.