Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,009 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,554 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Mastercard by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,532,541,000 after buying an additional 565,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $546.16 and its 200 day moving average is $523.83. The company has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

About Mastercard

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.