Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 430,699 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,663 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $212,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.7% in the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $17,854,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $532.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $488.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $508.78 and its 200 day moving average is $475.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $404.32 and a 1-year high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.