Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Buys 11,135 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd grew its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 179.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,345 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,135 shares during the period. SouthState accounts for 1.4% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in SouthState were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in SouthState by 577.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 181.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 253.3% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 756 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SouthState stock opened at $92.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $114.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.97. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.79.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%. The business had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from SouthState’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.77%.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In other SouthState news, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 3,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,089.14. The trade was a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 2,500 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,546 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,095.80. This trade represents a 6.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.