China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $555.63 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $528.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $501.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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

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.