Avenir Corp Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Avenir Corp lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,172 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,198 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.6% of Avenir Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Avenir Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $34,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $617,303,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after acquiring an additional 979,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MA traded up $4.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $517.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,329,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $537.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard 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.