SouthState Corp Purchases 5,985 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,243 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 2.3% of SouthState Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $34,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $545.38 and a 200-day moving average of $523.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.