Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $7.09 Million Stake in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in SouthState Co. by 140.9%, acquiring a total of 76,386 shares worth approximately $7.09 million.
• SouthState recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, up from $0.54, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.
• The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.32, with revenue reaching $840.50 million compared to expectations of $645.12 million.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 140.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,386 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 44,682 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of SouthState worth $7,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SSB. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of SouthState by 577.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 569 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of SouthState by 181.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 586 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in SouthState by 253.3% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 756 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SouthState

In related news, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $498,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,785 shares in the company, valued at $3,165,786. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.31 per share, with a total value of $324,820.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at $807,089.14. The trade was a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SouthState Price Performance

SSB stock traded up $4.0980 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.5380. 780,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 927,214. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $77.74 and a 52 week high of $114.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.79.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%.The firm 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 posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState's payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on SouthState in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. 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 objective for the company. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SouthState currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

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.