Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Lowered by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,731,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 103,965 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.5% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of Mastercard worth $865,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 340,525 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $172,168,000 after buying an additional 4,556 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Mastercard by 26.0% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 4,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 9.6% in the first quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,104,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,782 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% 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. Insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $503.99 and its 200-day moving average is $516.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard Company Profile

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.