Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Akre Capital Management LLC’s Largest Position

Akre Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,005,280 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 150,314 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 18.8% of Akre Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Akre Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,715,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $489.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $499.31 and a 200 day moving average of $523.57. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

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 net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.04.

Mastercard News Roundup

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

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.