UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,614,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,304 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.8% of UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,776,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 41,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,443,000 after buying an additional 14,374 shares in the last quarter. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 359.1% during the 4th quarter. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd now owns 193,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $110,528,000 after buying an additional 151,436 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 120,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,910,000 after buying an additional 17,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 45,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,974,000 after buying an additional 7,276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $499.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $523.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.