Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 101,347 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 404,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,347 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $199,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.7 %

MA traded down $8.89 on Friday, reaching $506.75. 840,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,135,268. The company has a market cap of $465.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.44.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

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.