Mastercard Incorporated $MA Holdings Lifted by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

MA opened at $570.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $555.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.60. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

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.