First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,987 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,907 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of SouthState worth $4,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 72,650 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in SouthState during the fourth quarter worth about $1,019,000. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its position in shares of SouthState by 269.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 129,104 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,843,000 after buying an additional 94,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.02 per share, with a total value of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at $431,481.78. This represents a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $200,652.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $482,433.86. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup raised SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on SouthState from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.60.

SouthState Price Performance

SSB stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.47. 268,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,140. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.34. SouthState Co. has a 12 month low of $70.68 and a 12 month high of $114.27. 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 $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.75.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. SouthState's payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

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.