Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 5,500 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,565 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of SouthState worth $14,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SouthState in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in SouthState by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in SouthState during the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in SouthState by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ SSB traded up $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.82. 626,967 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 620,124. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $92.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. SouthState's payout ratio is presently 31.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SouthState news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $200,652.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $482,433.86. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.