South Dakota Investment Council Has $25.25 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $563.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $511.79 and its 200 day moving average is $514.20.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $561.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.65.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.