Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 330,604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,623 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $141,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Mastercard by 3,339.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,867,000 after acquiring an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 48.4% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $691,394,000 after purchasing an additional 569,534 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 30.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $471.35 and its 200 day moving average is $436.35. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

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.