SouthState Bank Corporation $SSB Stock Sold by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors cut its SouthState Bank stake by 19% in the third quarter, selling 61,783 shares and retaining 263,013 shares valued at approximately $26.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.76% of the company.
• SouthState Bank insiders sold 34,831 shares worth about $3.8 million during the latest quarter, including substantial sales by a director and the CFO.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.66 per share, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $118.54, above the reported share price of $101.38.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its stake in SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB - Free Report) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,013 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,783 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.27% of SouthState Bank worth $26,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState Bank by 0.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 0.7% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 0.3% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 48,472 shares of the company's stock worth $4,485,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 2.5% during the second quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 6,635 shares of the company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of SouthState Bank by 5.0% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David R. Brooks sold 24,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,711,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,900 shares in the company, valued at $869,000. The trade was a 75.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO William Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $435,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,419,072.24. This trade represents a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,831 shares of company stock worth $3,814,274. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SouthState Bank Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of SSB opened at $101.38 on Friday. SouthState Bank Corporation has a 52 week low of $84.47 and a 52 week high of $112.20. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $104.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $672.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $676.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that SouthState Bank Corporation will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from SouthState Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. SouthState Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SSB. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on SouthState Bank from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on SouthState Bank from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of SouthState Bank in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of SouthState Bank from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $118.54.

About SouthState Bank

SouthState Bank is a regional banking institution and the principal banking subsidiary of SouthState Corporation NYSE: SSB. The bank provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses, institutions and municipalities, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, and lines of credit.

Its business also includes commercial banking, treasury and cash-management services, equipment financing, small-business lending, and wealth-management and trust services.

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