California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 42,945 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,850,799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 42,945 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Mastercard worth $1,040,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after acquiring an additional 542,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $545.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $556.55 and a 200-day moving average of $567.02. The company has a market cap of $489.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $652.50.

Mastercard 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.