Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Has $3.55 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,745 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.6% of Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s investment portfolio, 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.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $540.57 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $550.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $527.19.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.