California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 315,989 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,930,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 315,989 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.6% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $823,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

MA stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $456.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,157,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,405,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,630 shares of company stock worth $68,440,330. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.