Banque Pictet & Cie SA Has $502.39 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 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 period. Mastercard makes up about 4.1% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.10% of Mastercard worth $502,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.4%

MA traded down $13.48 on Friday, hitting $550.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,221,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,716. The company has a market cap of $501.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $568.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $547.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.