McHugh Group LLC Makes New $6.78 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

McHugh Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,882 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,784,000. Mastercard accounts for about 5.1% of McHugh Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $82,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,513 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 20,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,913,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.0% in the third 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 raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.2 %

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

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus 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.