Legal & General Group Plc Has $3.28 Billion Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,745,672 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 61,215 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,280,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SLT Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 176,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $100,593,000 after buying an additional 5,935 shares during the period. Elite Life Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,658,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,657 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Six 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.00.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a partnership with JD.com to expand global payment connectivity and explore agentic AI-powered purchasing solutions, which could support future transaction volume growth and strengthen its digital commerce position. Mastercard (MA) Partners With JD.com To Build Out Global Payment Connectivity And Explore Agentic AI-Powered Purchasing Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also partnered with ryd to launch a digital-first fleet payment operating system in Europe, highlighting continued expansion in commercial payments and acceptance-network usage. Mastercard and Ryd Target Fragmented European Fleet Payments Market
• Positive Sentiment: BMONI and Mastercard said they are partnering to unlock instant card access for consumers in Nigeria, another sign of Mastercard’s continued push into emerging-market digital payments. BMONI and Mastercard Partner to Unlock Instant Card Access for Consumers in Nigeria
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its fintech innovation footprint by launching Mastercard Lighthouse in the UAE with the UAE AI Office, which may help the company identify new payment and AI-related growth opportunities. Mastercard Lighthouse launches in UAE in collaboration with UAE AI Office to accelerate fintech innovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard continues to draw investor attention, but the article is largely a recap rather than a new catalyst. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider reduced their stake, which can attract attention but does not necessarily signal a major change in fundamentals. This Mastercard Insider Reduced Their Stake By 43%
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that UK and European regulators may push for more fee transparency and regional payment alternatives, which could pressure Mastercard’s pricing power and market share. Should Visa & Mastercard Investors Worry About UK & Europe’s Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: Market chatter that Mastercard is asking Brazilian payment processors to help cover losses tied to Banco Master’s failure may add near-term earnings uncertainty. Market Chatter: Mastercard Asks Brazil’s Payment Processors to Help Pay for Banco Master Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Broader headlines about Europe’s payment alliance targeting Visa and Mastercard reinforce competitive and regulatory risks for MA’s network model. Europe’s 130-million-user payment alliance takes aim at Visa and Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $498.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $501.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $480.50 and a 1 year 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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 was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard 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.