State Street Corporation $STT Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group slashed its State Street stake by 83.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,464 shares and leaving it with 9,532 shares worth about $1.23 million.
• State Street reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with earnings of $2.84 per share and revenue of $3.80 billion, both above analyst estimates. Quarterly revenue rose 15.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying a 2.1% annualized yield, while analysts remain generally upbeat with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $158.57.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 83.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,532 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 49,464 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in State Street were worth $1,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STT. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in State Street by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 318 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in State Street by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 340 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key State Street News

Here are the key news stories impacting State Street this week:

• Positive Sentiment: State Street Investment Management announced a change to its ETF lineup, including the planned closure and liquidation of the State Street DoubleLine Emerging Markets Fixed Income ETF (EMTL). This reflects an active review of the firm’s product set and could help management focus resources on higher-priority offerings. State Street Investment Management Announces Change to ETF Lineup
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street presented at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, which may have given investors an updated look at strategy and outlook, but no major new financial details were included in the headline. State Street Corporation (STT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ronald P. Hanley sold 14,553 shares and EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,212 shares in pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions. While these were planned sales, insider selling can still weigh on investor sentiment. CEO stock sale SEC filing EVP stock sale SEC filing

State Street Stock Performance

Shares of STT opened at $157.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. State Street Corporation has a 1 year low of $94.72 and a 1 year high of $159.31.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.20. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. On average, analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. State Street's dividend payout ratio is 34.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on State Street from $152.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on State Street from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on State Street from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $158.00 price objective on State Street and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of State Street in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, State Street currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.57.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In related news, COO Mostapha Tahiri sold 9,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.93, for a total value of $1,469,810.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,885,701.06. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.89, for a total value of $461,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,697,600.58. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 52,476 shares of company stock valued at $7,624,925 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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