The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Position in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 4.1% in the first quarter, holding 805,427 shares valued at approximately $74.76 million.
• SouthState recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, up from the previous $0.54, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for SouthState with a target price of $115.27, reflecting confidence in the company's performance amid recent earnings that exceeded estimates.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 805,427 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 31,584 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.79% of SouthState worth $74,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 14.2% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 943 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.2% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,547 shares of the bank's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.7% in the first quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the bank's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 2.3% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 8,222 shares of the bank's stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other SouthState news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.30 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $498,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,165,786. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

SSB traded up $0.63 on Tuesday, reaching $102.69. The company had a trading volume of 969,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,417. SouthState Co. has a 1 year low of $77.74 and a 1 year high of $114.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.33.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSB has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SouthState presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.27.

SouthState 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.