Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.89 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 stock has a market cap of $479.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $504.09 and its 200 day moving average is $471.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $395.55 and a twelve month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $549.16.

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.