Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $2.97 Million Position 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, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $528.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $404.32 and a 1-year high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.