State of Wisconsin Investment Board Sells 25,552 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

State of Wisconsin Investment Board trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,552 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.6% of State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $255,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $501.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $499.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $522.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

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.