Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 4,418 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 916,566 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,418 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 4.1% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.10% of Mastercard worth $502,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $564.73. 1,002,572 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,671,838. The company has a market cap of $514.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.33.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.50.

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.