Prospector Partners LLC Has $18.51 Million Stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,058 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the quarter. SouthState comprises 2.1% of Prospector Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $18,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SSB. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of SouthState by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in SouthState in the third quarter valued at about $243,000. 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. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of SouthState by 10.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,411 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,520,000 after purchasing an additional 18,881 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SSB opened at $81.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.32. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SouthState news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,787 shares in the company, valued at $482,433.86. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $707,241.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SSB. Citigroup upgraded shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Raymond James upgraded SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.40.

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.