Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Lifted by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 889,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.9% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned approximately 0.10% of Mastercard worth $505,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. RB Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 10,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Daner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daner Wealth Management LLC now owns 518 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,599,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 8,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $657.48.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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.