KBC Group NV Raises Stake in State Street Corporation $STT

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) by 206.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,176 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 197,457 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.11% of State Street worth $37,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in State Street during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in State Street during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in State Street during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in State Street during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 255,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,693,789.20. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total value of $243,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,827 shares in the company, valued at $6,781,829.78. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,876 shares of company stock worth $5,866,583 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STT. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of State Street from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of State Street from $155.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of State Street in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of State Street in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of State Street from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, State Street presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.72.

State Street Price Performance

NYSE STT opened at $182.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.55. State Street Corporation has a twelve month low of $104.64 and a twelve month high of $192.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.59.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. State Street had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that State Street Corporation will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

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.