MURRAY RICHARD IV

Murray Richard IV, president of SouthState Corporation (SSB), has filed 38 Form 4 transactions with the SEC, all involving the single regional bank holding company. The pattern is overwhelmingly one of compensation-driven activity rather than discretionary trading. Across all filings, Richard has recorded zero open-market purchases and approximately $1.98 million in open-market sales, with the two most recent sales occurring on February 18, 2026, at a combined value of roughly $1.06 million. A prior sale on August 14, 2025, added about $515,000, bringing his total discretionary sell-side activity to just three transactions over the reporting period. The bulk of Richard’s Form 4 filings reflect automatic or mechanical events: option exercises (coded M) valued at $0, shares withheld to cover tax obligations (coded F), and compensation grants (coded A). Notably, his acquired value—approximately $2.28 million—exceeds his total sales, but nearly all of that stems from restricted stock awards and option exercises rather than purchases. For instance, on January 20, 2026, he received two awards totaling roughly $997,573, and on January 21, 2025, he received awards worth about $686,322. Tax-withholding events, such as the $282,579 transaction on February 20, 2026, and the $127,237 event on January 1, 2026, further indicate that his share count is being managed to cover vesting costs rather than to realize investment gains. The recent direction is consistent with a long-term executive compensation cycle: periodic grants, scheduled option exercises, and occasional sales that align with vesting dates. The February 2026 sale, coming just two days before a tax-withholding event tied to an option exercise, suggests the sale was likely executed to manage a concentrated position following vesting. With no purchases on record and sales clustered around compensation events, Richard’s Form 4 history shows no sustained buying bias—only the routine monetization of equity awards.