Westchester Capital Management LLC Invests $5.79 Million in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 58,200 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of SouthState at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at about $625,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,818,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in SouthState by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of SouthState by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 29,348 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 8,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of SouthState by 384.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 33,706 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,387,000 after purchasing an additional 26,755 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SouthState stock opened at $89.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. SouthState Co. has a twelve month low of $70.68 and a twelve month high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. SouthState’s payout ratio is 31.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 2,717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,481.78. The trade was a 137.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.90.

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.