AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 10,814 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,762 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 10,814 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of SouthState worth $7,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SouthState during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in SouthState by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SSB shares. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of SouthState from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.60.

SouthState Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SSB traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.70. The company had a trading volume of 649,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,156. 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $88.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.75.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. SouthState's payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,442,514.40. This trade represents a 9.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,481.78. This represents a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.