Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 5,623 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,623 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. MGO Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. MGO Private Wealth LLC now owns 788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 16,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $612,000. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $462.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,963,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $436.35.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.