Annex Advisory Services LLC Has $715,000 Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Annex Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.28 and a 200-day moving average of $494.92. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $427.45 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.