Rockland Trust Co. Purchases 4,751 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,751 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.7% of Rockland Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $44,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Athena Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% in the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,504 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cladis Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $11.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $563.93. 978,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,529,723. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $571.56 and a 200 day moving average of $528.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $660.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $680.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,806,033.28. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,618 shares of company stock valued at $38,854,630. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.