Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 192,363 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Mastercard by 61.5%, acquiring an additional 192,363 shares and positioning the stock as its 10th largest holding.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly EPS of $4.15, exceeding estimates, with a 16.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $8.13 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Mastercard, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of approximately $615.33.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 61.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,343 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 192,363 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.2% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $276,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $573.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,593,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,637. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $553.98. The company has a market capitalization of $518.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $454.89 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were 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 represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.