Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,025 shares of the bank's stock after selling 69,526 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of SouthState worth $10,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in SouthState by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the bank's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at about $233,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,371 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ SSB traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.63. 538,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 812,275. SouthState Co. has a 52-week low of $70.68 and a 52-week high of $114.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.63. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.70.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. SouthState's payout ratio is 31.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of SouthState from $111.00 to $103.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.44.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,693,447.03. The trade was a 16.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

SouthState Company 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.