Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,947,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,790 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.21% of Mastercard worth $1,025,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,674,932,000 after acquiring an additional 581,697 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Mastercard by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,532,541,000 after acquiring an additional 565,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % 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. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $550.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board 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.