Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $505.43. 1,568,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,338,178. The company has a market capitalization of $463.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $524.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MA. Bank of America raised their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.13.

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.