AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in BNY $BK

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd sharply reduced its BNY stake by 97.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 308,798 shares and leaving it with 9,003 shares valued at about $1.045 million.
• BNY posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.25 versus $1.94 expected and revenue of $5.41 billion versus $5.14 billion expected, while revenue rose 12.9% year over year.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, implying an annualized payout of $2.12 and a dividend yield of 1.6%.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of BNY (NYSE:BK - Free Report) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,003 shares of the bank's stock after selling 308,798 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in BNY were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ransom Advisory Ltd boosted its holdings in BNY by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 6,777 shares of the bank's stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in BNY by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 9,232 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BNY by 1.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,539 shares of the bank's stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC boosted its holdings in BNY by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 12,981 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in BNY by 2.6% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.31% of the company's stock.

BNY Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BK opened at $134.89 on Friday. BNY has a 12-month low of $87.41 and a 12-month high of $139.15. The company has a market capitalization of $92.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50-day moving average is $125.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.35.

BNY (NYSE:BK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. BNY had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that BNY will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BNY Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. BNY's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of BNY in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of BNY from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BNY from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of BNY from $135.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $136.00 price target on shares of BNY in a report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BNY presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Alejandro Perez sold 12,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.01, for a total transaction of $1,713,173.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,578,607.13. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Shannon Marie Hobbs sold 297 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.05, for a total transaction of $40,703.85. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,206 shares in the company, valued at $2,083,982.30. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,091 shares of company stock worth $6,568,423. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BNY Profile

BNY, formerly known as BNY Mellon, is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City. Formed in 2007 through the merger of the Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation, BNY traces its roots back to 1784, making it one of the oldest banking institutions in the United States. It was also the first company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

BNY operates at the center of the world's capital markets, partnering with clients to help them operate more efficiently and accelerate growth.

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