Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 7,191 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 3.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 188,562 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,191 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in SouthState were worth $18,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in SouthState by 234.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,208 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 18,374 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 711,853 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,178,000 after acquiring an additional 25,495 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in SouthState by 605.2% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 31,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 26,966 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in SouthState by 14.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 15,500 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SouthState by 17.6% during the second quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 201,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,416,000 after purchasing an additional 30,234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of SSB opened at $111.18 on Wednesday. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.20.

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

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other news, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,332,800. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group downgraded SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens lifted their price target 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.11.

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.