Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in State Street by 1.0% in Q4, selling 361,580 shares and now holds 36,598,366 shares (about 13.10%) valued at roughly $4.72 billion.
• State Street reported an earnings beat—EPS $2.84 vs. $2.64 and revenue $3.80B (up 15.6% year-over-year)—leading to analyst upgrades and higher price targets (Goldman $168, Morgan Stanley $166; average target $154 and consensus "Moderate Buy").
• Insiders sold 28,711 shares worth about $3.93M over the last three months (insider ownership now ~0.27%), including sales by EVPs Michael Richards and John Plansky.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,598,366 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 361,580 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.10% of State Street worth $4,721,555,000 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 the stock. Regents of The University of California acquired a new stake in shares of State Street during the 3rd quarter worth about $324,576,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in State Street by 11.7% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 208,600 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,139,000 after buying an additional 21,810 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in State Street during the third quarter worth approximately $2,622,000. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in State Street during the third quarter worth approximately $6,611,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in State Street by 49.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 127,984 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,847,000 after buying an additional 42,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STT has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of State Street in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $165.00 target price on State Street in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded State Street from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on State Street from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.00.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In other news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,697,600.58. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Plansky sold 16,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.32, for a total value of $2,001,552.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,711 shares of company stock valued at $3,933,032 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

State Street Stock Up 2.1%

STT opened at $153.98 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $131.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $42.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.37. State Street Corporation has a one year low of $85.68 and a one year high of $156.18.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. State Street's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that State Street Corporation will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

State Street Announces Dividend

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

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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