Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,363 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.2% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after buying an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $497,311,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,873,475. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $563.01 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $493.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $531.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.84 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.93.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.