Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,553 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its position in Mastercard by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $5.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $449.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,535,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,473,001. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $469.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $438.31. The company has a market cap of $419.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.27.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,377,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,612,262,959.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 725,088 shares of company stock valued at $329,657,858 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by 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.