Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,676 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 175,175 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,676 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of SouthState worth $17,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in SouthState by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,109,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in SouthState by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in SouthState by 16.8% during the 4th 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. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of SouthState by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SouthState by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,371 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

SouthState Stock Up 1.0 %

SouthState stock opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. SouthState Co. has a 1-year low of $70.68 and a 1-year high of $114.26. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.70.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on SSB shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded shares of SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

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.