Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 34,586 Shares of State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in State Street Corporation by 3.2%, now holding over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $119.8 million.
• State Street recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84, a rise from the previous $0.76 dividend, translating to an annual yield of 3.0%.
• Following favorable earnings results that exceeded analyst expectations, several research firms have raised their target prices for State Street, with Evercore ISI adjusting theirs to $115.00.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,127,025 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 34,586 shares during the quarter. State Street accounts for 2.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of State Street worth $119,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in State Street during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in State Street by 3,914.3% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 281 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in State Street by 40.8% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in State Street by 186.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in State Street by 98.4% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 506 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STT. Citigroup raised State Street from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on State Street from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on State Street from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on State Street from $113.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Cfra Research raised State Street from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other State Street news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.29, for a total transaction of $108,197.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,332 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

State Street Trading Up 0.1%

STT traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,268,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,894. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $111.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.52. State Street Corporation has a 52 week low of $72.81 and a 52 week high of $116.37.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 12.59%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

State Street Company Profile

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.