Clearstead Trust LLC Acquires 833 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 833 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.6% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $527.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.