Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 167,320 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,683,206 shares of the bank's stock after selling 167,320 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.21% of SouthState worth $167,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SSB. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in SouthState by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 207,705 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,662,000 after buying an additional 44,445 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in SouthState by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 46,709 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,491,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in SouthState during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Intrust Bank NA bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in SouthState by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,759 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upgraded shares of SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.40.

SouthState Price Performance

NASDAQ SSB traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.19. The company had a trading volume of 283,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,703. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.33. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. SouthState Co. has a twelve month low of $70.68 and a twelve month high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SouthState

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,442,514.40. This trade represents a 9.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.