Swiss National Bank Sells 2,400 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,464,300 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Mastercard worth $1,216,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 48.6% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $17,854,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $521.89. 2,408,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,555,392. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $395.55 and a one year high of $534.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average is $471.38.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $470.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard 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.