Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,205 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,873 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Expressive Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $770,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. TrustBank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 40,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,139,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 49,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,076,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MA opened at $494.22 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $501.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $436.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $480.50 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

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

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said consumer spending trends in the Middle East remain solid, which supports the view that cross-border and payments volume remain healthy. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach: Overall spending trends in the Middle East remain solid
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin highlighted the company’s focus on future payment infrastructure, reinforcing investor confidence in Mastercard’s innovation pipeline and long-term growth strategy. Mastercard CTO Ed McLaughlin on Firm’s Goal to ‘Set the Stage for the Future’
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets argued that Mastercard remains a top long-term growth stock, with continued emphasis on its scale, profitability, and decades of strong stock performance. Why Mastercard (MA) is a top growth stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: News that Increase expanded push-to-card transfers for Mastercard and Visa cards underscores continued adoption of Mastercard-linked payment rails in instant payout and refund use cases. Increase Expands Instant Payment Solutions to Include Push-to-Card Transfers
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles marked Mastercard’s 20-year IPO anniversary and its historical stock gains; these reinforce the company’s strong track record but do not change near-term fundamentals. NYSE Content Update: Mastercard Celebrates Two Decades as NYSE-Listed Company
• Neutral Sentiment: Other pieces compared Mastercard with Visa or highlighted its long-term share-price surge, which is supportive sentiment but not a direct catalyst for the stock today. Mastercard’s stock is up 11,000% since its IPO 20 years ago. What comes next?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader consumer-spending commentary around selective shopping and Memorial Day promotions could signal a more cautious backdrop for payment volumes if discount-driven spending softness persists. Memorial Day Sales Test the Selective Consumer

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average 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.