Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,000 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.4% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 550.0% in the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $310,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $579.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $580.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $523.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

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.