Unigestion Holding SA Purchases 66,043 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Unigestion Holding SA increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,043 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 3.4% of Unigestion Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $69,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 12.4% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 8.0% in the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 48.6% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.28.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $529.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $514.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $485.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $411.60 and a 12 month high of $535.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.