Edmond Safra’s EMS Capital’s Top 5 Stocks

In this article, we discuss the top 5 stocks of Edmond Safra’s EMS Capital. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Edmond Safra’s EMS Capital’s Top 10 Stocks.

5. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

EMS Capital’s Stake Value: $83,371,000

Percentage of EMS Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 6.53%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a multinational financial services mega corporation, which allows transactions via its debit, credit, and prepaid cards. Several banks came together to create Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in 1966, to compete with Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)’s BankAmericard, which is now rebranded as the Visa card owned by Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). 

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a top stock pick of EMS Capital, with the investment firm owning stakes worth $83.3 million in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) as of June this year. This represents 6.53% of EMS Capital’s stock portfolio. 

The Q3 EPS for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) came in at $2.37 on October 28, beating estimates by $0.18. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s revenue for the third quarter was $4.99 billion, exceeding the estimated revenue by $35.79 million. 

Raymond James analyst John Davis on October 29 kept an Outperform rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), but lowered the price target from $453 to $430. He stated that the Q3 earnings suggested a modest revenue beat, and the outlook for Q4 also suggests moderate growth. 

Here is what Polen Capital has to say about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Mastercard faced pressure as some believe these “old payment infrastructure” businesses will be disrupted by newer fintech companies using blockchain, buy now, pay later (BNPL), or other innovations to provide better/cheaper payment services. However, we believe that some of these technologies have meaningful limitations which could benefit existing payment networks. For example, BNPL transactions are often funded with cards and turn a one-time transaction into many smaller ones with more transaction fees for Mastercard. Just like with regulation, we continually monitor for competition and technological disruption. As of now, we do not see a significant risk in the foreseeable future to this company.”