Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.2%, now holding 39,443 shares valued at approximately $22.17 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Mastercard, with estimates ranging from $645.00 to $661.00, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Buy."
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, set to be distributed on November 7th, yielding an annualized total of $3.04.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $634.04.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6%

Mastercard stock opened at $576.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $521.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $581.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $562.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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