Azora Capital LP Makes New $68.91 Million Investment in State Street Corporation $STT

Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 406,286 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $68,906,000. State Street accounts for 2.9% of Azora Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Azora Capital LP owned approximately 0.15% of State Street as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the second quarter valued at about $4,139,389,000. Regents of The University of California grew its position in shares of State Street by 15.6% during the first quarter. Regents of The University of California now owns 10,065,118 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,273,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,923 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of State Street by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,222,382 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $673,740,000 after purchasing an additional 433,201 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in State Street by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,559,546 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $588,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,174 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in State Street by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,926,321 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $506,534,000 after purchasing an additional 67,309 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of State Street from $155.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of State Street from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of State Street from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of State Street from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on State Street from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.38.

Insider Activity

In other State Street news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.52, for a total value of $1,800,546.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,187,988.88. The trade was a 16.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.17, for a total transaction of $2,680,226.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,959 shares in the company, valued at $44,377,419.03. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,811 shares of company stock valued at $4,723,982. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

State Street Trading Up 0.3%

STT opened at $193.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $181.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.25. State Street Corporation has a one year low of $104.64 and a one year high of $195.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.31. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 13.75 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. State Street's dividend payout ratio is 29.63%.

State Street Company 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.

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