Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 597 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Avior Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 597 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after buying an additional 71,569 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after buying an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,875,266,000 after buying an additional 38,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,370 shares of company stock valued at $46,797,168 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $544.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $520.19 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $398.26 and a 1-year high of $534.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $504.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.