Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Purchases 83,039 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,133,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 83,039 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.0% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.12% of Mastercard worth $640,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MA opened at $546.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.