American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 14.4%, owning over 1.7 million shares worth approximately $164 million.
• Insider Director Janet P. Froetscher acquired 3,338 shares of SouthState stock, which reflects a 67.35% increase in her position.
• SouthState recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.54, with a current yield of 2.5%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,769,537 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 222,818 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.74% of SouthState worth $164,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $5,682,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in SouthState by 1.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SouthState by 104.4% in 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 during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SouthState presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SSB traded up $0.4330 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $96.7830. 334,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 929,691. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.65. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $77.74 and a 52 week high of $114.26. The company has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.79.

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

SouthState Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In related news, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.30 per share, for a total transaction of $230,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 39,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher acquired 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were bought 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 $807,089.14. The trade was a 67.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.