Focused Alpha LLC Purchases New Position in State Street Corporation $STT

Focused Alpha LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in State Street during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,139,389,000. Regents of The University of California raised its position in shares of State Street by 15.6% during the first quarter. Regents of The University of California now owns 10,065,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,273,841,000 after buying an additional 1,358,923 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in State Street by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,222,382 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $673,740,000 after acquiring an additional 433,201 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in State Street by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,559,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $588,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,174 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of State Street by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,926,321 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $506,534,000 after acquiring an additional 67,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STT opened at $193.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41. State Street Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $104.64 and a fifty-two week high of $195.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.29 and a 200-day moving average of $152.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.31. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 13.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on STT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on State Street from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on State Street from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on State Street from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of State Street in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on State Street from $176.50 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.38.

Insider Activity at State Street

In other State Street news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.52, for a total transaction of $1,800,546.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 49,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,988.88. This trade represents a 16.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total transaction of $243,210.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,781,829.78. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,576 shares of company stock worth $8,415,875. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

State Street Company Profile

State Street Corporation is a global financial services company that provides a range of investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading services to institutional investors. Its principal activities include custody and fund administration, securities lending, performance and risk analytics, trading and execution services, and foreign exchange. The company also offers investment management through State Street Global Advisors, a major provider of exchange-traded funds and institutional investment strategies.

State Street serves a broad client base of asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, and other institutions across North America, Europe, Asia and other global markets.