State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 304,524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,896 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $160,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its position in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $535.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $509.98. 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 released 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.