Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Has $10.40 Million Stock Holdings in State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) by 2.6% during the first quarter, bringing their holdings to 116,105 shares valued at approximately $10.40 million.
• State Street recently announced a dividend increase, raising its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.84 per share, which represents a yield of 3.0% based on the annualized amount.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for State Street stock, with Goldman Sachs raising their target from $98.00 to $111.00 while keeping a "buy" rating on the stock.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,105 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,985 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in State Street were worth $10,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of State Street in the first quarter valued at about $979,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of State Street by 25.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 45,000 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,029,000 after buying an additional 9,224 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of State Street by 1,087.2% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 61,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,482,000 after buying an additional 56,078 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of State Street by 4.3% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,141 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of State Street by 2.6% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 491,754 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,027,000 after buying an additional 12,325 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

State Street Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of STT stock traded up $0.2950 on Wednesday, reaching $111.4450. The company had a trading volume of 497,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,281. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.41 and a 200-day moving average of $97.16. State Street Corporation has a 12 month low of $72.81 and a 12 month high of $114.28.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 12.59%.State Street's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. State Street's payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.29, for a total value of $108,197.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,517,174.28. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on State Street from $113.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cfra Research raised State Street from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on State Street from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on State Street from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on State Street from $102.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.82.

About State Street

State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody, accounting, regulatory reporting, investor, and performance and analytics; middle office products, such as IBOR, transaction management, loans, cash, derivatives and collateral, record keeping, and client reporting and investment analytics; finance leasing; foreign exchange, and brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors.