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

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,133,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,039 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.0% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $640,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $545.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $520.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.