Eastern Bank Sells 1,738 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 11.5%, selling 1,738 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 13,375 shares worth approximately $7,331,000.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $3.73 per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding expectations and demonstrating a 14.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 0.54%, with a dividend payout ratio of 21.32%.

Eastern Bank reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,375 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,738 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,007,373,000 after acquiring an additional 71,874 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MA traded down $6.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $559.73. 3,316,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,427,760. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $564.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $510.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $439.59 and a 52 week high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.