Panagora Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management increased its State Street stake by 73.9% in Q4, buying an additional 354,106 shares and bringing its total holding to 833,197 shares valued at about $107.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 87.44% of State Street shares. Several other funds also boosted their positions during the quarter.
• State Street reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.84 beating estimates and revenue rising 15.6% year over year, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 73.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 833,197 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 354,106 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.30% of State Street worth $107,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in State Street by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,123,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in State Street by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 109,664 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,148,000 after buying an additional 56,887 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in State Street in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in State Street by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 86,041 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,100,000 after buying an additional 12,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in State Street by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In other State Street news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.89, for a total value of $461,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,697,600.58. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total value of $2,260,808.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 255,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,693,789.20. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 37,876 shares of company stock worth $5,866,583 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

State Street Trading Down 0.2%

State Street stock opened at $167.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. State Street Corporation has a one year low of $95.67 and a one year high of $168.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. The business's fifty day moving average is $150.84 and its 200 day moving average is $135.57.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.20. State Street had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 13.47%.The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. State Street's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. State Street's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $165.00 target price on State Street in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on State Street from $162.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded State Street from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on State Street from $152.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on State Street from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.57.

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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