Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Trimmed by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,113 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $504.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,045,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,394,476. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $524.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.13.

Mastercard 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.