Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,241 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,241 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $532.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $507.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $518.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard 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.