Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Lifted by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 920,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,455 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 3.2% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $484,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $533.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $508.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Company 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.