Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Professional Financial Advisors LLC

Professional Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $21,442,000. United Bank boosted its position in Mastercard by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Mastercard by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $97,335,000 after acquiring an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $12,926,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.62.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $479.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 544,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,659. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $355.82 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $463.16 and a 200 day moving average of $426.09. The company has a market capitalization of $447.48 billion, a PE 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’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 value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $20,003,217.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067 over the last 90 days. 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.