California Public Employees Retirement System Has $865.13 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,731,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 103,965 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.5% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $865,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.92.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $543.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $516.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

About Mastercard

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.