Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its Mastercard stake by 6.1% in Q4, selling 7,250 shares and ending the period with 111,307 shares worth $63.54 million (about 0.7% of its holdings, its 17th largest position).
• Analysts remain bullish—the consensus rating is "Buy" with an average target of $664.40 (six Strong Buy, twenty Buy, one Sell), and individual targets in the roughly $610–$700 range.
• Strong quarterly results and a dividend: Mastercard beat EPS estimates with revenue up 17.5% year-over-year and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, ~0.7% yield).

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,307 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,250 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Legacy Bridge LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 610 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Watershed Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC now owns 919 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 148,708 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $84,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $656.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $664.40.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:MA opened at $498.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $444.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $480.50 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $513.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $541.60.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard Company 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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