Professional Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Professional Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $502.26 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $502.92. The stock has a market cap of $464.01 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $480.78 and a 200 day moving average of $462.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.96.

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.