SouthState Co. $SSB Holdings Raised by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 282.2%, holding 85,145 shares valued at approximately $7.9 million after purchasing an additional 62,868 shares in the first quarter.
• SouthState recently reported a quarterly earnings EPS of $2.30, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue totaling $840.5 million against an estimated $645.12 million.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60, up from $0.54, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 35.77%.

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 282.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,145 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 62,868 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of SouthState worth $7,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in SouthState by 31.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,079,578 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,028,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637,786 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in SouthState by 34.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,556,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $422,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,348 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState during the first quarter valued at about $62,230,000. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in SouthState by 286.3% during the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 556,226 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,629,000 after acquiring an additional 412,242 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in SouthState by 38.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,437,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $133,407,000 after acquiring an additional 397,371 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In related news, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $498,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,165,786. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 over the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upped their target price on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays upped their target price on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState Stock Performance

SSB stock traded down $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.55. 1,932,146 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,429. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. SouthState Co. has a 1-year low of $77.74 and a 1-year high of $114.26. The company's fifty day moving average price is $98.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.74.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%.The business had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.77%.

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.