Boston Partners Increases Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,236 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,873 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in SouthState were worth $26,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,820,303 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $176,931,000 after acquiring an additional 31,340 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,891 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,448,000 after acquiring an additional 52,042 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,703,000 after acquiring an additional 139,602 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,812,000 after acquiring an additional 37,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 4.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 731,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,117,000 after acquiring an additional 34,194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.44.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSB opened at $94.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.49 and a 200 day moving average of $100.60. The company has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.68. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s payout ratio is presently 31.03%.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $200,652.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,433.86. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.