Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases 696,014 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 2,221.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 727,341 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 696,014 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.95% of SouthState worth $72,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SSB. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of SouthState by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the 4th quarter worth about $799,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of SouthState by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 201,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,018,000 after buying an additional 34,080 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of SouthState by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,929 shares of the bank’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of SouthState by 22,412.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,433.86. This trade represents a 29.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 2,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,481.78. This trade represents a 137.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SouthState Stock Up 0.3%

SSB stock opened at $91.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.87. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. SouthState’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on SouthState from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.90.

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.