Westchester Capital Management LLC Invests $5.79 Million in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 58,200 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of SouthState as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SSB. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in SouthState by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in SouthState by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SSB. Barclays cut their target price on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of SouthState from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of SouthState from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.60.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SSB traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $86.17. The company had a trading volume of 147,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,191. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.