Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 21,400 SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 21,400 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,807,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 50.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 638 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in SouthState by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in SouthState during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState during the first quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in SouthState by 8,346.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $76.61 on Friday. SouthState Co. has a 1 year low of $59.51 and a 1 year high of $87.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.86 and a 200-day moving average of $78.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.74.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.13. SouthState had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $419.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $419.08 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on SouthState from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James downgraded SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on SouthState from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Renee R. Brooks sold 4,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.62, for a total value of $344,620.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,718,178.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President Richard Iv Murray sold 4,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $401,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 58,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,530.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Renee R. Brooks sold 4,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.62, for a total transaction of $344,620.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,718,178.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,925 shares of company stock worth $988,686. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

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.