Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,113 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,365 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of SouthState by 234.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 18,374 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of SouthState by 605.2% during the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 31,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after buying an additional 26,966 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 123,482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,437,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 201,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,416,000 after buying an additional 30,234 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of SouthState during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,086,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $109.78 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.46. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $426.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.47 million. SouthState had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. SouthState’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,400. The trade was a 11.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,800. This represents a 6.98 % 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 analysts have recently commented on SSB shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group lowered SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens boosted their target price on SouthState from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on SouthState in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.11.

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.