Vestcor Inc Acquires 1,417 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,994 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Vestcor Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Mastercard by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 592 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Mastercard by 137.4% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 153,864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $86,462,000 after purchasing an additional 89,057 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MA opened at $521.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $539.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $557.13. The stock has a market cap of $465.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial set a $611.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Mastercard from $668.00 to $671.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $670.61.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.