MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,831 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,353 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $99,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Betterment LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $432.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $499.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $523.49. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.