Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 419,129 shares of the bank's stock after selling 45,359 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.55% of SouthState worth $41,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the 4th quarter worth $67,260,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,311,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at $21,498,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,913 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,569,000 after acquiring an additional 210,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of SouthState by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,703,000 after buying an additional 139,602 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SouthState Trading Up 0.2%

SSB traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.47. 608,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 651,698. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.58 and a 200 day moving average of $97.87. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. SouthState's payout ratio is 34.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.90.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value 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. This represents a 29.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 3,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.60 per share, for a total transaction of $290,160.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,442,514.40. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About SouthState

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.