Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 304,293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.