Swiss National Bank Sells 2,400 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,464,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,216,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. S&CO Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 22.2% during the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 10,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 23.0% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.4% during the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 359,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $177,313,000 after acquiring an additional 106,963 shares in the last quarter. Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 5,549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,970,017,774.60. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $521.89 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $395.55 and a 1 year high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.18.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard 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.