Avalon Capital Management Has $325,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Avalon Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 32.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 579 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Avalon Capital Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MA opened at $552.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $499.52 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $571.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $569.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point set a $620.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.26.

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.