Arizona State Retirement System Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,557 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Arizona State Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Mastercard were worth $131,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $561,313,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $550.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $568.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.67. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Macquarie decreased their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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