Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,781 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.8% of State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Mastercard were worth $140,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,765 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

MA stock traded down $13.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $550.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,221,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,632. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $547.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Mastercard Company 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.