Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

by · The Cerbat Gem

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,425 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $29,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% in the second quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $654.81.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mastercard

Mastercard Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $571.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $554.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $566.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market cap of $513.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.44%.

About Mastercard

(Free Report)

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.

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