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

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 916,566 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,418 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 4.1% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.10% of Mastercard worth $502,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded down $0.77 on Thursday, hitting $564.34. 2,577,223 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,669,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $568.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.57. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a market cap of $514.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Truist Financial began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $640.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

About Mastercard

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.