Essex Savings Bank Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,221 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $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

NYSE:MA opened at $524.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $499.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.84. The stock has a market cap of $481.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $386.74 and a 52 week high of $528.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $540.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.