Chatham Capital Group Inc. Acquires 25 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,308,000 after buying an additional 4,166 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 515,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,496,000 after buying an additional 102,714 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 30,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,014,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.6 %

MA opened at $549.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $544.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $519.85. The company has a market capitalization of $501.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Company 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.