Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,441,792 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 11,673 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.07% of SouthState worth $839,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in SouthState by 22,412.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of SouthState by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,840 shares of the bank's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,324 shares of the bank's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Barclays began coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.40.

SouthState Price Performance

NASDAQ SSB traded down $10.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,000,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,372. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.43. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.68. SouthState Co. has a 52-week low of $70.68 and a 52-week high of $114.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In related news, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.02 per share, with a total value of $250,018.34. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at $431,481.78. This represents a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith bought 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought 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. The trade was a 9.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.