Eastern Bank Sells 320 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $0.03 on Monday, hitting $504.64. 2,045,892 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,394,476. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $463.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $524.09 and a 200 day moving average of $492.31.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

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.