Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,465,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of Mastercard worth $1,385,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $528.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $569.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $652.50.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.