Avenir Corp Sells 3,886 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Avenir Corp cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 86,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,886 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 3.5% of Avenir Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Avenir Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $41,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total transaction of $48,557,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,014,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,500,735,980.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total transaction of $48,557,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,014,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,500,735,980.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,202. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,720,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,758,080. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.23.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $6.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $447.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,261,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,075. The company has a market cap of $415.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $445.90 and its 200-day moving average is $456.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.