Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,459 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,416 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in SouthState were worth $3,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SSB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in SouthState by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,999,000 after acquiring an additional 72,181 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of SouthState by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 213,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,716,000 after purchasing an additional 9,693 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 22.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of SouthState by 4.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 731,802 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,117,000 after purchasing an additional 34,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in SouthState by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 35,119 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,413,000 after buying an additional 18,917 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

SouthState Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of SSB traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.27. The stock has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average is $99.06 and its 200 day moving average is $100.59.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. 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 2.34%. SouthState's payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SSB. Citigroup raised SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group started coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.44.

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.