Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,054 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Coastline Trust Co lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 17,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,873,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% in the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 70,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $521.89 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $395.55 and a 12 month high of $534.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $479.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $504.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total value of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock worth $97,749,218 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.