Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 14,458 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,457 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 14,458 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.6% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Mastercard were worth $69,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its position in Mastercard by 36.4% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 18.0% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

Mastercard stock traded up $3.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $558.22. 1,251,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,339. The company has a market capitalization of $508.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $567.30 and its 200 day moving average is $548.77. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.