MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,445 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,230 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of SouthState worth $8,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in SouthState by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in SouthState during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SouthState by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,481.78. This represents a 137.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $200,652.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,433.86. The trade was a 29.37 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SSB. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Raymond James raised SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.90.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of SSB stock opened at $83.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.10. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.65. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid 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 yield of 2.58%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.03%.

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.