Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,312 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.6% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $91,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $535.93 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $546.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $523.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $488.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.