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

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% during the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total transaction of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 3.1 %

MA stock opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $384.30 and a 1-year high of $527.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.02. The company has a market capitalization of $481.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $540.17.

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.