Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 9,063 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,262 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,063 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.6% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Mastercard were worth $70,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $559.28.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $5.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $534.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,956,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,801. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $515.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.86. The company has a market capitalization of $490.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $411.60 and a one year high of $535.89.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

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.