Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron FinTech Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund rose 6.33% (Institutional Shares) compared to a 3.60% gain for the FactSet Global FinTech Index (Benchmark) and a 10.56% gain for the S&P 500 index. The major market indexes touched an all-time high in the quarter driven by robust economic data and relatively strong corporate earnings. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron FinTech Fund highlighted stocks like Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a payment technology company with a market capitalization of $419.424 billion. The one-month return of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was -2.43%, and its shares gained 20.52% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 24, 2024, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) stock closed at $451.18 per share.
Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Payments was another standout theme thanks to double-digit gains from global payment companies Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and Fiserv, Inc. Mastercard’s shares rose after the company reported quarterly financial results that exceeded Street expectations, with 13% revenue growth and 20% EPS growth. Spending volume remains healthy, with outsized growth in international markets and cross-border transactions. Management also provided encouraging financial guidance for 2024 that calls for double-digit revenue growth and margin expansion. Meanwhile, investors largely shrugged off potential risks to Mastercard stemming from Capital One’s announced acquisition of Discover.”
A closeup of virtual and physical Mastercard cards demonstrating the company’s innovative payment platform.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reported strong revenue and earnings growth in the first quarter 2024. The net revenue increased by 11% and net income rose by 16% in the quarter compared to a year ago on a non-GAAP currency neutral basis.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is in 9th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 148 hedge fund portfolios held Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) at the end of the first quarter which was 141 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and shared the list of best digital payments stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as Microsoft but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.