Clarendon Private LLC Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,000. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Clarendon Private LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $537.70. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

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.