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

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F 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 quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.21% of SouthState worth $167,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter worth $67,260,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the 4th quarter worth $21,498,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of SouthState by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,569,000 after buying an additional 210,019 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SouthState by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 851,455 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,703,000 after acquiring an additional 139,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in SouthState by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 265,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,809,000 after acquiring an additional 103,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,787 shares in the company, valued at $482,433.86. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Up 2.6 %

SSB opened at $94.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. SouthState Co. has a 1 year low of $70.68 and a 1 year high of $114.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.54.

SouthState Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.