MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 6,230 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 87,445 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $8,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in SouthState by 24.2% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 16.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in SouthState in the fourth quarter worth $137,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Stock Performance

SouthState stock opened at $83.75 on Tuesday. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.65.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SouthState news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 3,100 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,442,514.40. This trade represents a 9.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,693,447.03. The trade was a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SSB shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SouthState from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of SouthState from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.90.

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.