National Pension Service Has $864.34 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.6%, owning approximately 1.58 million shares, making it the 18th largest holding in its portfolio.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate and reflecting a 16.8% revenue increase year-over-year to $8.13 billion.
• Several investment firms have given buy ratings to Mastercard, with a consensus target price of about $615.33 and prominent analysts projecting future growth in earnings per share.

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,576,912 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,602 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of National Pension Service's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Mastercard worth $864,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $582.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,263,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business's fifty day moving average price is $563.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $554.64. The firm has a market cap of $526.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $461.90 and a one year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

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.