Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Lowered by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 407,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,570 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.8% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $179,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $493.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $458.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $501.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $465.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Mastercard Company 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.