Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MA opened at $528.48 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $404.32 and a 1-year high of $534.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $508.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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.