Swiss National Bank Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,630,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 91,100 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Mastercard worth $1,122,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 26.6% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 283,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $112,208,000 after buying an additional 9,905 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 14,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.8% in the third quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 467,088 shares of company stock worth $215,249,338. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.68.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

MA traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $441.97. 1,816,306 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,877. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $412.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $470.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

About Mastercard

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.