Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MA opened at $567.12 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 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $520.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $530.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.85.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Company 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.