Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $776,000 Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,819 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MA traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $451.19. 2,696,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,313. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.91 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.