Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 676,120 SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Norges Bank bought a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 676,120 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $67,260,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.89% of SouthState 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,820,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $176,931,000 after buying an additional 31,340 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,891 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,448,000 after purchasing an additional 52,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,703,000 after buying an additional 139,602 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in SouthState by 4.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in SouthState by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,913 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,569,000 after buying an additional 210,019 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upgraded SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SouthState currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.90.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other SouthState news, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 3,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.60 per share, for a total transaction of $290,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,779 shares in the company, valued at $3,442,514.40. This represents a 9.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $431,481.78. This trade represents a 137.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

SouthState Trading Down 2.4 %

SSB stock traded down $1.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.12. 1,105,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 607,589. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.35 and a 200-day moving average of $99.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. SouthState Co. has a 1 year low of $70.68 and a 1 year high of $114.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.65.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.03%.

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.