Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Has $875,000 Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.8 %

MA stock opened at $555.63 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $527.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.25. 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 P/E ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.