South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

South Dakota Investment Council cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,360 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $647.89.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $552.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $499.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $576.43 and its 200-day moving average is $568.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

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

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.