Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 300,217 Shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 72.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,895 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 300,217 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in State Street were worth $11,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in State Street in the fourth quarter valued at $272,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in State Street by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 457,924 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,725,000 after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in State Street by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,874,936 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $184,025,000 after acquiring an additional 10,404 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in State Street by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 74,268 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,289,000 after acquiring an additional 7,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in State Street in the fourth quarter valued at $395,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

State Street Stock Performance

State Street stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 219,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,144,056. State Street Co. has a 1-year low of $70.20 and a 1-year high of $103.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.86. The company has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.42.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.06. State Street had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. State Street's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In other State Street news, CAO Elizabeth Schaefer sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.72, for a total value of $117,936.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,154.88. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of State Street from $109.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of State Street from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of State Street from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of State Street from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of State Street from $127.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.15.

State Street 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.