Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $531.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $504.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.