Arax Advisory Partners Sells 6,571 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Arax Advisory Partners lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,571 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Mastercard by 396.3% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after acquiring an additional 36,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $1,328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

More Mastercard News

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

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.