Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Makes New $560,000 Investment in State Street Corporation $STT

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in State Street by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,859,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $447,684,000 after acquiring an additional 137,049 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,829,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $367,041,000 after buying an additional 377,568 shares in the last quarter. Regents of The University of California acquired a new position in shares of State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at $324,576,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,747,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 738,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,576,332 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $182,870,000 after buying an additional 342,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of State Street stock opened at $155.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. State Street Corporation has a one year low of $94.72 and a one year high of $159.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.22.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. State Street had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 14.22%. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is 34.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In other news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $1,431,084.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,251,403.20. This represents a 13.40% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $2,260,808.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 255,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,693,789.20. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,476 shares of company stock worth $7,624,925. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of State Street from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays set a $165.00 price target on shares of State Street in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Argus upped their price target on shares of State Street from $140.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of State Street from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of State Street from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.57.

Key State Street News

Here are the key news stories impacting State Street this week:

• Positive Sentiment: State Street was highlighted as one of the better-positioned names in the regional banks/financials group, with analysts citing favorable industry trends such as restructuring, acquisitions, digitization, loan demand, and lower rates as potential tailwinds for growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: State Street Investment Management announced it will close and liquidate the EMTL ETF, which can be read as disciplined product management and a focus on pruning weaker offerings to improve capital efficiency. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street announced that CFO John Woods will present at the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials Conference on June 10. The event may provide updates on strategy and outlook, but it is not a direct business catalyst by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street’s entities ceased to be substantial holders in several Australian companies, reflecting portfolio ownership changes that do not appear material to State Street’s own earnings power. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ronald P. Hanley and EVP W. Bradford Hu both sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. While routine, insider selling can still pressure sentiment when the stock is trading close to recent highs. Article Title

State Street 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.