Concord Asset Management LLC VA Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,510 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 127.0% in the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8 %

MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $527.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $500.25.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved 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 usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Mizuho raised their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.64.

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.