Clearstead Trust LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 50.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,095 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $2.48 on Friday, reaching $443.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,711,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $469.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.