J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Mastercard by 15.9% in Q4, selling 31,268 shares and now holds 165,875 shares worth $94.7 million, making Mastercard its 14th largest holding (about 1.5% of the portfolio).
• Mastercard posted a strong quarter with Q4 EPS $4.76 (vs. $4.24 expected) and revenue up 17.5% YoY; the stock pays a $0.87 quarterly dividend and carries an average analyst rating of "Buy" with a $667.88 average price target.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 165,875 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 31,268 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Mastercard were worth $94,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,431,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,181,341,000 after acquiring an additional 955,533 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 792.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $494,110,000 after acquiring an additional 768,514 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,347,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,885,944,000 after acquiring an additional 629,941 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,980,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.8%

Mastercard stock opened at $492.79 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $519.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $546.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $439.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $656.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $739.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $667.88.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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