SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,683,206 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 167,320 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SouthState were worth $167,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in SouthState by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in SouthState by 22,412.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of SouthState by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $707,241.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. The trade was a 16.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher acquired 2,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.02 per share, with a total value of $250,018.34. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,481.78. This trade represents a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James raised SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday. Barclays started coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SSB opened at $94.66 on Thursday. SouthState Co. has a one year low of $70.68 and a one year high of $114.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.65 and its 200-day moving average is $100.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.68.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. SouthState’s payout ratio is 31.03%.

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.