Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Mastercard by 11.4% to 329,822 shares—worth $188.29 million—making the stock about 0.7% of the fund's portfolio and its 17th largest holding.
• Mastercard beat quarterly expectations with EPS $4.76 versus $4.24 and revenue of $8.81 billion (up 17.5% YoY), and institutional investors own 97.28% of the company.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, yield 0.7%), and analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" with an average price target of $659.81.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,848 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Mastercard were worth $188,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 35.8% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $509.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $508.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $538.62. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $480.50 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $454.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $631.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $659.81.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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