Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Boosted by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $570.96 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $555.91 and a 200-day moving average of $565.60. The company has a market capitalization of $512.72 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.48.

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.