Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s 9th Largest Position

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,442,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 320,000 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.7% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $712,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the third quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 115,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,788,000 after buying an additional 5,447 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $528.48 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $485.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $404.32 and a 52 week high of $534.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $508.03 and a 200-day moving average of $474.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. BNP Paribas cut Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

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.