Employees Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,078 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,977 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.8% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $218,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,181,341,000 after acquiring an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 792.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $494,110,000 after acquiring an additional 768,514 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,885,944,000 after acquiring an additional 629,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $289,353,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $494.22 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $480.50 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $501.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $528.62. The firm has a market cap of $436.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $631.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

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

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.