Wellington Management Group LLP Has $82.47 Million Position in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its stake in SouthState Co. by 5.3%, selling 49,321 shares and maintaining ownership of 888,451 shares, which are valued at $82.47 million.
• SouthState increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 from $0.54, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 35.77%.
• Despite insider selling, including a transaction where Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares, there has been significant institutional interest with 89.76% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 888,451 shares of the bank's stock after selling 49,321 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.88% of SouthState worth $82,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SSB. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of SouthState by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,371,315 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,285,000 after buying an additional 259,557 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in shares of SouthState by 81.5% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 688 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of SouthState by 150.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 142,933 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,266,000 after buying an additional 85,816 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of SouthState by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 30,059 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 5,121 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in SouthState by 14.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,769,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $164,249,000 after purchasing an additional 222,818 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of SSB stock traded up $2.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 451,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,347. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.39. 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 company has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.79. SouthState Co. has a one year low of $77.74 and a one year high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $3,650,095.80. The trade was a 6.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 31,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,165,786. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SSB shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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 equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently 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.