Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,169 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 105,947 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Mastercard were worth $176,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $561.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $565.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $546.00. The stock has a market cap of $512.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

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.

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