Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Decreased by Avestar Capital LLC

Key Points

• Avestar Capital cut its Mastercard stake by 48.2% in the third quarter, selling 6,000 shares and retaining 6,439 shares valued at approximately $3.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.31 and revenue of $9.81 billion, up 14% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, equal to a 0.5% annualized yield.
• Several analysts raised their price targets, contributing to a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average target of $698.36, but insiders sold 56,048 shares worth $32.5 million over the past 90 days. The company also faces legal and financial risks, including a proposed UK interchange-fee lawsuit and declining operating cash flow.

Avestar Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,439 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Mastercard by 5.4% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $14,093,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 141,828 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $72,843,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,656,528 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $850,004,000 after acquiring an additional 82,793 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 50.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 81,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $44,885,000 after buying an additional 4,751 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.00, for a total transaction of $2,676,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at $22,165,000. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,048 shares of company stock valued at $32,527,203. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $638.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $586.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $559.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $644.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.20%.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Mastercard reported adjusted earnings of $5.31 per share versus the $5.17 consensus, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion, ahead of the $9.66 billion estimate. Net income increased 18% to approximately $4.6 billion. Reuters earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Payment activity and services remained strong: Purchase volume rose 9%, cross-border volume increased 11%, and switched transactions grew 9% on a local-currency basis. Value-added services revenue advanced 19%, supported by fraud prevention, data and marketing offerings, while the adjusted operating margin reached 60.5%.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved materially: TD Cowen, Wells Fargo, RBC, Barclays, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Susquehanna all raised their price targets, with targets ranging from $700 to $750 and ratings including “buy,” “overweight” and “outperform.” Analysts also highlighted Mastercard’s potential in AI commerce, tokenized payments and stablecoins. Zacks earnings call article
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard continues expanding its payments ecosystem through partnerships involving Google Pay, pay-by-bank services, co-branded cards and agentic commerce. These initiatives could support long-term transaction growth, although their near-term financial contribution is uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face legal and financial risks. A proposed £5 billion UK collective lawsuit alleges Mastercard’s interchange fees harmed merchants. Separately, nine-month operating cash flow declined 6%, while buybacks and dividends exceeded operating cash flow and debt increased by roughly $4.9 billion. UK lawsuit article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $633.00 to $674.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $698.36.

Mastercard Company 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 electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.

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