Fortune Financial Advisors LLC Has $3.29 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,249 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 3.0% of Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 13,137 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 154,994 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,257,000 after acquiring an additional 16,527 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $564.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $526.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $518.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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

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.