State of Alaska Department of Revenue Purchases 993 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $60,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $21,442,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 34.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 30.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after purchasing an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $12,926,000. 74.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $349.66. The company had a trading volume of 8,426,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,420,157. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $276.87 and a 1-year high of $390.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $333.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The credit services provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.65% and a return on equity of 158.38%. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total transaction of $2,928,868.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,440,789.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total transaction of $2,928,868.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,440,789.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 172,548 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.62, for a total transaction of $63,086,999.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100,908,187 shares in the company, valued at $36,894,051,330.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 655,522 shares of company stock worth $242,724,561 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $405.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $456.00 to $441.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $406.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.41.

About Mastercard

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Mastercard, Inc is a technology company, which engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial, and payment programs. The company was founded in November 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, NY.