Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $25.25 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,171 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 111,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,080,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977,885 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 241.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,791,626 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386,762 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,027,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,398,165,000 after buying an additional 2,247,291 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.39, for a total value of $49,243,124.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,430,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,916,200,851.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,533,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,596,400. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.39, for a total value of $49,243,124.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,430,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,916,200,851.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 407,267 shares of company stock worth $161,485,243 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $414.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $390.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $401.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $381.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $276.87 and a twelve month high of $418.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.10% and a net margin of 43.37%. The company had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $440.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $442.83.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.