KBC Group NV Acquires 810 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,106 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in SouthState were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SSB. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in SouthState by 122.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,543 shares of the bank’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 3,598 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in SouthState by 22,412.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of SouthState by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,929 shares of the bank’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 201,229 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,018,000 after purchasing an additional 34,080 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Finally, Hovde Group lowered shares of SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.44.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In related news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ SSB opened at $103.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.31. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.70. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.26.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

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.