VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 16,960 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth 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. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Betterment LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $500.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $505.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $533.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Macquarie Infrastructure lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.00.

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.