Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 308,517 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,552,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 308,517 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $856,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Fundsmith LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Mastercard by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $863,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,671 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Mastercard by 295.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 860,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $441,702,000 after acquiring an additional 642,724 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 26.2% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,941,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,622,398,000 after purchasing an additional 611,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $293,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $725.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 price objective (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $704.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total transaction of $2,774,012.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS increased 21.2%. Services revenue grew 19%, although higher incentives were flagged as a concern. Mastercard’s 19% Services Growth Steals the Q3 Show: Buy or Hold MA?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling potential upside in its view. Truist Financial rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded MA from Buy to Hold, despite lifting its target to $725. The mixed call may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s recent rally. Freedom Broker rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk: coverage notes the recent rally has outpaced changes in earnings estimates, leaving less room for disappointment. Rising incentives could also weigh on margins. Mastercard Stock Rose 22% in a Month. Here’s What Its Price Now Assumes
• Negative Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard face additional collective claims in the UK over card fees, adding potential legal and financial uncertainty. Visa and Mastercard face additional £5bn collective claims over card fees
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFO sold about $2.77 million of MA shares. The sale may attract attention, but the report provides no context on its purpose. Mastercard CFO stock sale

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $653.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $593.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $539.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods.

The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.