Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 8,988 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers significantly increased its position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ: SSB) by 188.5% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 13,756 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• SouthState recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.54 to $0.60, representing a yield of 2.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.77%.
• The bank reported a quarterly EPS of $2.30, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $840.50 million against forecasts of $645.12 million.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 188.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,756 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 8,988 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in SouthState were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState by 19.1% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the bank's stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of SouthState by 26.1% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 19,515 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the period. KDK Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState in the first quarter worth $957,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in SouthState in the first quarter worth $4,192,000. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in SouthState by 23.7% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the bank's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.31 per share, with a total value of $324,820.78. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,089.14. This represents a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 39,546 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SSB traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $97.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 370,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,674. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.79. 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 $77.74 and a 12-month high of $114.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.02.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. SouthState's payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SSB. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $115.27.

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.