Munro Partners Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Munro Partners boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,020 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 3.6% of Munro Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Munro Partners’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $137,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $490.47 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $523.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $433.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Susquehanna lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.04.

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.