McHugh Group LLC Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

McHugh Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,882 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,784,000. Mastercard makes up about 5.1% of McHugh Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,513 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 20,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,913,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 16,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,030,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.6% during the third quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $566.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $519.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $530.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $503.85. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.