Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,767 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in SouthState were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in SouthState by 17.1% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,297 shares of the bank’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in SouthState during the third quarter worth $207,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in SouthState by 16.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in SouthState during the third quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SouthState by 11.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SSB. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.44.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $91.57 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $70.68 and a 52-week high of $114.27. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.68 and its 200 day moving average is $100.70.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid 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 dividend yield of 2.36%. SouthState’s payout ratio is 31.03%.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other SouthState news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $482,433.86. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.