Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Has $34.55 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,029 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,443 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Mastercard were worth $34,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,645 shares of company stock worth $26,979,801 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $6.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $568.52. 3,107,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,016. The stock's fifty day moving average is $555.17 and its 200 day moving average is $544.04. The stock has a market cap of $518.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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.