Swiss National Bank Buys 149,000 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,484,860 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.7% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Mastercard worth $1,241,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $503.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $516.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.