Natixis Takes Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Natixis bought a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,400 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in SouthState by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,913,615 shares of the bank's stock worth $192,531,000 after purchasing an additional 93,312 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of SouthState by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,891 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,448,000 after acquiring an additional 52,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in SouthState by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,703,000 after purchasing an additional 139,602 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,498 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,812,000 after purchasing an additional 37,796 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,260,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other SouthState news, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 2,717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.02 per share, with a total value of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $431,481.78. The trade was a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SouthState Stock Down 2.8 %

SSB traded down $2.50 on Friday, hitting $87.25. 1,390,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $90.93 and its 200-day moving average is $98.85. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a 12 month low of $70.68 and a 12 month high of $114.27.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SSB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upgraded SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.90.

About SouthState

SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It offers checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits, as well as bond accounting, asset/liability consulting related activities, and other clearing and corporate checking account services.