F M Investments LLC Sells 92,451 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

F M Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 94.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,425 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 92,451 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSB. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SouthState by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,913,615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $192,531,000 after purchasing an additional 93,312 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in SouthState by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,891 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,448,000 after purchasing an additional 52,042 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 19.6% during the fourth 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,812,000 after purchasing an additional 37,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in SouthState during the 4th quarter worth $67,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SSB opened at $81.38 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s payout ratio is presently 31.03%.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In related news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,433.86. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.90.

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.