Banque Pictet & Cie SA Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 920,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,455 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 3.2% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.10% of Mastercard worth $484,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $533.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.28. The company has a market cap of $519.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.