LM Advisors LLC Sells 1,728 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

LM Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,728 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of LM Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched Agent Pay for Machines (AP4M), a new payment framework designed to let AI agents and autonomous machines make secure transactions, send micropayments, and settle across multiple payment types. The initiative is backed by more than 30 industry participants and includes crypto and fintech partners, which could open a new growth avenue in AI-powered commerce. Article: Mastercard Introduces Agent Pay for Machines to Enable Autonomous AI Transactions
• Positive Sentiment: A U.S. federal judge gave preliminary approval to Mastercard’s revised $38 billion swipe-fee settlement, moving a decades-long antitrust case closer to resolution. Investors may view this as reducing legal overhang, even though merchants remain unhappy and the final outcome is still pending. Article: Mastercard Incorporated (MA) gains 2% Over Preliminary Judicial Approval of $38 billion Swipe-Fee Settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard also announced leadership changes, including Ling Hai moving into the CFO role and Sachin Mehra taking on a newly created Chief Business Officer position. This is more of a governance update than an immediate operating catalyst. Article: Mastercard announces leadership changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Cuba’s central bank said it will suspend all Visa and Mastercard transactions there after a processing partnership collapsed under U.S. sanctions pressure. The direct financial impact appears limited, but it highlights ongoing geopolitical and payment-network disruptions. Article: Cuba’s Central Bank to Suspend all Visa and Mastercard Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary on Mastercard’s valuation notes that the stock has been under pressure over the past months and remains below key moving averages, suggesting investors are still cautious despite the positive news flow. Article: A Look At Mastercard (MA) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $499.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $523.57. 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 (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Company 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.