Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,873 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Avior Wealth Management reduced its Mastercard stake by 18.6% in the third quarter, selling 1,873 shares and retaining 8,183 shares valued at approximately $4.51 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of Mastercard.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; shares opened at $604.95 and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $681.56.
• The company continues expanding in digital assets and emerging markets through crypto-linked cards, stablecoin settlement initiatives, cybersecurity investments and a fleet-payments partnership, though it faces a reported £700 million U.K. class action related to post-Brexit fees.

Avior Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,183 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,873 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Novem Group lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 408 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts say Mastercard may be approaching a long-term breakout after moving above key buy points and extending a multi-session winning streak. This is attracting momentum-oriented investors. Why the charts are signaling that Mastercard could be poised for a long-term breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are anticipating Mastercard’s third-quarter results later this month, with analysts expecting double-digit earnings growth. The company’s latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue. Here’s What to Expect From Mastercard Incorporated’s Next Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is broadening its payments ecosystem through a crypto-linked card program with SoFi Tech Solutions and Orbi in Mexico. The program allows customers to spend crypto or fiat while merchants receive traditional currency, potentially increasing Mastercard network usage. Does Mastercard Using Orbi’s Crypto Card in Mexico Hint at a Deeper Network Strategy?
• Positive Sentiment: New digital-asset initiatives, including an Open USD stablecoin on Solana for cross-border payments, reinforce Mastercard’s strategy of participating in blockchain-based settlement and international commerce. Mastercard launches Open USD stablecoin on Solana for cross-border payments
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced an Africa cybersecurity center and partnered with WEX on an Asia-Pacific fleet-payments network projected to process billions of dollars in annual transactions, supporting longer-term growth in commercial and emerging-market payments. WEX and Mastercard partner to unify fleet payments across Asia-Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Julius Genachowski sold shares in two transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales modestly reduced his holdings but are less concerning because they were scheduled in advance. Mastercard SEC Form 4 insider transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard and Visa face a reported £700 million class action in the United Kingdom related to post-Brexit fees, creating a potential legal and financial overhang. Visa and Mastercard face £700m class action over post-Brexit fees

Mastercard Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MA opened at $604.95 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $573.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $532.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $605.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,359 shares of company stock valued at $39,290,046. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Clear Str raised Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $681.56.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard's products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.

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