China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 1,101 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $382,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $555.63 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $528.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change 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 presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $595.64.

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.