Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,850,526 shares of the bank's stock after selling 88,627 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.43% of SouthState worth $185,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of SouthState by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 116,404 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,312,000 after acquiring an additional 45,785 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState during the 3rd quarter valued at $265,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,820,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $176,931,000 after purchasing an additional 31,340 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SouthState in the third quarter valued at $445,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 14.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,411 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,520,000 after purchasing an additional 18,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of SouthState stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.71. 571,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,759. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $104.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.25. SouthState Co. has a 1-year low of $70.68 and a 1-year high of $114.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.26. SouthState had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $426.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that SouthState Co. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. SouthState's payout ratio is 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SSB. Stephens raised shares of SouthState from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Hovde Group downgraded shares of SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.11.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,696,400. The trade was a 11.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,800. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SouthState Profile

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.