SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) Shares Purchased by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,082 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in SouthState by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,573 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 2.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 408,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,736,000 after buying an additional 9,863 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in SouthState by 7.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,153 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $265,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of SSB stock opened at $81.47 on Friday. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group began coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, 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 value of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,442,514.40. This represents a 9.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.