Earnest Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,439,425 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,104 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.89% of SouthState worth $143,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $5,790,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at $625,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of SouthState during the 4th quarter valued at $11,818,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,102 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SSB opened at $87.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.93 and a 200 day moving average of $98.87. SouthState Co. has a 52-week low of $70.68 and a 52-week high of $114.27. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.65.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SSB. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upgraded shares of SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SouthState has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.90.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $200,652.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,433.86. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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