Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $3.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $441.46. 1,029,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,454,886. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $451.50 and its 200-day moving average is $453.31.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Hai Ling sold 2,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.00, for a total value of $1,330,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. 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.