Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 8,966 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,270,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,966 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.0% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $726,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,548,000 after acquiring an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $490.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $433.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $532.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $480.50 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $631.00 target price on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.00.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was included in Zacks’ list of transaction stocks to watch, with the note that contactless payments, BNPL, and cross-border payment growth continue to support the industry’s outlook. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Digital Advancements
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon launched new business credit cards issued by U.S. Bank on the Mastercard network, which adds another branded-card use case and supports transaction volume for Mastercard. Amazon’s New Prime Business and Amazon Business Credit Cards, Powered by U.S. Bank and Mastercard®, Are Now Available with Enhanced Rewards and Flexible Financing
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard appeared in several analyst and market-research items, including a Truist price-target cut to $561 while keeping a buy rating, and other general commentary that did not materially change the company’s operating outlook. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Price Target Cut to $561.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag came from news that the U.S. government opened an inquiry into Brazil’s PIX instant-payments system, raising concerns that low-cost government-backed rails could bypass Mastercard and other card networks and pressure future cross-border transaction growth. U.S. PIX Inquiry Puts Mastercard Growth And Valuation In Focus

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.