ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,990 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 7,295 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in SouthState were worth $2,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SSB. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SouthState by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,913,615 shares of the bank's stock valued at $192,531,000 after acquiring an additional 93,312 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of SouthState by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,111,758 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,598,000 after purchasing an additional 95,841 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,891 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,448,000 after buying an additional 52,042 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,703,000 after buying an additional 139,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in SouthState by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,498 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,812,000 after buying an additional 37,796 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SSB. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on SouthState in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 29.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 2,717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $92.02 per share, with a total value of $250,018.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at $431,481.78. The trade was a 137.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SSB traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $87.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,017,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,828. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.36 and its 200 day moving average is $97.42.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

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.