586,262 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Purchased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 586,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $321,342,000. Mastercard makes up 1.3% of Strs Ohio’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% 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, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,053 shares of company stock worth $27,071,234 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $580.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $524.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $573.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Mastercard 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.