Boston Partners Grows Stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Boston Partners lifted its position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,236 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,873 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.34% of SouthState worth $26,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,178,000 after buying an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in SouthState by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 408,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,736,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SouthState by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 711,853 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,178,000 after purchasing an additional 25,495 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in SouthState in the 4th quarter worth $1,008,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SouthState by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,153 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SSB. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. The trade was a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Stacy Smith bought 3,100 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.60 per share, for a total transaction of $290,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,442,514.40. The trade was a 9.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Price Performance

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $94.54 on Thursday. 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.60. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.68.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.03%.

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.