Clarendon Private LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Clarendon Private LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.3% of Clarendon Private LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Clarendon Private LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $556.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $581.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.04.

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.