Peoples Financial Services CORP. Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,074 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MA traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $507.16. 393,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,429,868. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $509.88. The stock has a market cap of $471.46 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.64.

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.