Swiss National Bank Has $1.23 Billion Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,330,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 133,500 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,227,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $524.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.