Professional Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bollard Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. KeyCorp raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $479.62.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $479.67. 544,684 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,414,659. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $355.82 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $463.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.