Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $23.22 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.4% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Sather Financial Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 97,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,552,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 10,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Finally, Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $532.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $507.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $518.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

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.