Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after buying an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.25.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $532.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $533.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.32%.

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.