New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 29,316 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,950 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 29,316 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $389,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,523,000 after purchasing an additional 11,331 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 28.3% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.2% in the third quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $533.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $508.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.