Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Has $2.26 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $535.14 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $547.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $524.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Mastercard

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.