Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 189 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chatham Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 515,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,496,000 after purchasing an additional 102,714 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,169,000. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 30,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $549.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $544.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

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.