Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 4,614 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Walter Public Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,614 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 4.5% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 153.6% in the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longbow Finance SA grew its position in Mastercard by 50.3% in the third quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 23,013 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,090,000 after acquiring an additional 7,704 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $494.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $527.57. The company has a market cap of $436.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $480.50 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

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

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $631.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

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.