Egerton Capital UK LLP Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Egerton Capital UK LLP reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 458,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,813 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.8% of Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $261,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s CEO said spending growth has been holding up across all income bands, suggesting consumers remain resilient despite higher gas and food prices. That supports the outlook for payment volume and transaction growth. Mastercard CEO: Spending growth has been happening across all income bands
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its open finance ecosystem through a partnership with PaidBy, adding cross-border open banking payments, local-currency account-to-account transactions, and faster settlement. Can Mastercard Strengthen Its Open Finance Ecosystem With PaidBy?
• Positive Sentiment: News that Mastercard is adding stablecoins and broader settlement windows points to continued innovation in payments infrastructure, which could help the company capture more transaction flows and improve settlement efficiency. Mastercard adds stablecoins to payment settlement system
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s leadership shake-up and AI-focused initiatives suggest management is trying to accelerate fintech growth and modernize the business, which investors may view as supportive of long-term expansion. Mastercard Leadership Shake-Up to Drive Fintech Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Mastercard’s strong value-added services and high-return business model, but this is more of a long-term valuation argument than a direct near-term catalyst. Mastercard: Advanced DuPont Analysis Reveals Value-Added Services Are Built To Skyrocket The Share Price
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard transactions in Cuba are set to be suspended, a reminder that geopolitical and sanctions-related issues can still disrupt some transaction volumes, though the financial impact is likely limited. Visa, Mastercard transactions in Cuba to be suspended, central bank says

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $491.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $499.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $525.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior 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 EPS 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.