State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,575 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 480,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.7% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.05% of Mastercard worth $204,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $462.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,956,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,410,342. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $471.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.63. The stock has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company 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.