Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,264 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $178,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. American Trust lifted its stake in Mastercard by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 11,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 41,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Mastercard by 30.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 75,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,509,000 after purchasing an additional 17,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $460,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $489.92 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $411.60 and a 1 year high of $536.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $516.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.61.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.28.

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.