Deutsche Bank AG Boosts Stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in SouthState Co. by 53.6% in the first quarter, now holding 129,255 shares valued at approximately $12 million.
• SouthState's recent quarterly dividend has increased to $0.60 per share, with an annualized payout of $2.40 and a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Several analysts have rated SouthState with a consensus rating of "Buy" and set a consensus price target of $115.27.

Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 53.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,255 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 45,122 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.13% of SouthState worth $11,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SSB. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter worth $5,682,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 52,159 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,189,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their target price on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 target price on SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,089.14. This represents a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SSB opened at $97.55 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $93.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

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.

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