HMV Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $1.30 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

HMV Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,471 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000. Mastercard comprises 1.3% of HMV Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. State Street Corp increased its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after acquiring an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,115,228,000 after buying an additional 64,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $527.87 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $522.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.