Fragasso Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fragasso Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,115 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Fragasso Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977,885 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 241.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,791,626 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $507,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386,762 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,027,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,398,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247,291 shares in the last quarter. 74.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $442.00 to $452.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $442.83.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $414.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $390.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $276.87 and a 1 year high of $418.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $381.18.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.05. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.37% and a return on equity of 178.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,533,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,596,400. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.65, for a total value of $2,481,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,707 shares in the company, valued at $8,565,450.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,533,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,596,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 407,267 shares of company stock worth $161,485,243. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.