Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Purchases 59 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after acquiring an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $524.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.