Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Acquires 53 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,745 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.6% of Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its position in Mastercard by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 3,986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $51,962,000. B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $6,676,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

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

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $540.57 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $550.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $527.19. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Company 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.