Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $1.36 Million Investment in State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Abacus Wealth Partners LLC opened a new position in State Street Corporation during the fourth quarter, buying 10,524 shares valued at about $1.36 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on STT, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $155.77.
• State Street reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.84 EPS on $3.80 billion in revenue, while insiders also sold shares in recent weeks.

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,524 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,358,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in State Street by 102.5% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 318 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in State Street by 38.2% in the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 340 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on STT shares. Evercore set a $158.00 target price on State Street and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded State Street from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Bank of America upgraded State Street from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on State Street from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on State Street from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, State Street has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mostapha Tahiri sold 9,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.93, for a total value of $1,469,810.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,642 shares in the company, valued at $9,885,701.06. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.89, for a total transaction of $461,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,697,600.58. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 28,711 shares of company stock worth $3,933,032 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

State Street Stock Performance

Shares of STT stock opened at $152.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.77 and a 200 day moving average of $129.56. State Street Corporation has a 1 year low of $94.19 and a 1 year high of $156.18.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 13.47%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.08%.

About State Street

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.

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