Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Has $22.13 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,027 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,357,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 170,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $89,635,000 after purchasing an additional 51,000 shares during the last quarter. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $8,564,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,665,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $876,968,000 after purchasing an additional 237,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $550.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.26.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity

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

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.