Eastern Bank Has $7.21 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $624,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 1,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $556.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $562.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.