Hutchinson Capital Management CA Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hutchinson Capital Management CA purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tidemark LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 47,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,770,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 594,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,303,000 after buying an additional 27,860 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 13,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,942,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $527.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $545.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $522.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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

About Mastercard

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.