Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $235.38 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 458,288 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 19,545 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.05% of Mastercard worth $235,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Novem Group lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard has restarted international card-payment services in Syria for the first time in roughly 15 years after regulatory changes, potentially reopening transaction-volume opportunities in the country. Visa is also entering the market, limiting Mastercard’s ability to capture the opportunity exclusively. Visa, Mastercard begin first Syria global card payments in years
• Positive Sentiment: A new partnership with Asia-Pacific travel-experiences platform Klook aims to provide Mastercard cardholders with travel benefits and create additional spending touchpoints as experience-led tourism expands across the region. The initiative could support cross-border payments and customer engagement, although financial terms were not disclosed. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers' experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard said CFO Ling Hai will speak at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10. The presentation may offer updates on growth, travel spending and digital payments, but it does not change current financial guidance. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of a Ripple XRPL hackathon, highlighting continued interest in blockchain development. However, the event is not evidence of a major XRP or XRPL commercial rollout by Mastercard. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary argues that Mastercard’s strong earnings profile and roughly 61% net margin are already reflected in the stock’s elevated valuation. The shares’ retreat after nearing their high may therefore reflect profit-taking and concern that further gains require continued strong execution. Mastercard's Record Stalls With 61% Margin Already Priced In

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2%

Mastercard stock opened at $591.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $547.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.09. The company has a market capitalization of $518.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.71.

Mastercard 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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