Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 1,687 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,648 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,687 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in SouthState were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SouthState by 16.8% in the fourth 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. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 22,412.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sara Arana sold 1,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $482,433.86. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.60 per share, with a total value of $290,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,779 shares in the company, valued at $3,442,514.40. This trade represents a 9.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SSB. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group started coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SouthState has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.44.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of SSB opened at $92.32 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.68. SouthState Co. has a 12 month low of $70.68 and a 12 month high of $114.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.59.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.