Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $30.53 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,697 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,513 shares of company stock worth $23,166,463. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $532.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $559.72 and a 200-day moving average of $544.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.00.

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.