American Century Companies Inc. Sells 155,003 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,546,719 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 155,003 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in SouthState were worth $153,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in SouthState by 10.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,573 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in SouthState by 2.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 408,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,736,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in SouthState by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 711,853 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,178,000 after purchasing an additional 25,495 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter worth about $1,008,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 7.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,153 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In related news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $200,652.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,433.86. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 3,100 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,442,514.40. The trade was a 9.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SouthState Stock Down 0.3 %

SSB stock opened at $92.55 on Friday. 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 $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.41 and a 200-day moving average of $100.54. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.44.

SouthState Company 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.