State Street Corporation $STT Shares Bought by L & S Advisors Inc

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in State Street by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, holding 119,699 shares valued at about $15.4 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with several raising price targets; State Street currently has 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, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share.

L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,699 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares during the period. State Street comprises 1.4% of L & S Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in State Street were worth $15,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STT. Regents of The University of California acquired a new stake in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at about $324,576,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of State Street by 261.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,217,802 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $141,277,000 after acquiring an additional 880,507 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of State Street by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,747,646 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 738,456 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of State Street during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,092,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of State Street by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 863,666 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $100,194,000 after acquiring an additional 528,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on State Street from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America raised State Street from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Argus raised their target price on State Street from $140.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on State Street from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on State Street from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, State Street presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other State Street news, EVP John Plansky sold 16,100 shares of State Street stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.32, for a total transaction of $2,001,552.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,982,059.84. The trade was a 22.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of State Street stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 43,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,697,600.58. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,711 shares of company stock valued at $3,933,032 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

State Street Trading Down 0.6%

STT opened at $152.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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. State Street Corporation has a 52 week low of $94.19 and a 52 week high of $156.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $136.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for 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 revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. State Street's payout ratio is 34.08%.

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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