SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,645 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in SouthState were worth $661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,776 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of SouthState by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 3,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,442,514.40. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SSB. Barclays cut their price target on SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on SouthState from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.60.

SouthState Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $88.70 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.75. 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.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. SouthState’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

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.