Swiss National Bank Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,468,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,403,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,181,341,000 after purchasing an additional 955,533 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after purchasing an additional 542,841 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55,868.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,421,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,541,880,000 after buying an additional 13,397,168 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,725,317,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 25.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,580,909,000 after buying an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $521.82 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $539.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $557.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $465.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. HSBC raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $670.61.

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.