Eastern Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after acquiring an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after acquiring an additional 38,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $1.46 on Tuesday, reaching $513.55. 771,797 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $488.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $518.82. The stock has a market cap of $477.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.