Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on State Street (NYSE:STT)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 1,835 State Street put options, 47% above the average daily volume of 1,251, as the stock fell 8.6% to $159.16.
• Strong quarterly performance: State Street reported third-quarter EPS of $3.69, ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 12.9% year over year to about $4.0 billion. Fee revenue, net interest income, assets under custody and assets under management also posted strong growth.
• Mixed outlook and insider sales: Revenue slightly missed estimates, expenses increased, and analysts described the updated outlook as mixed. The CEO and an executive vice president sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $193.38.

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,835 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the average daily volume of 1,251 put options.

Key Stories Impacting State Street

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter diluted EPS was $3.69, exceeding the $3.65–$3.68 consensus range and rising sharply from $2.78 a year earlier. Revenue increased 12.9% year over year to approximately $4.0 billion. State Street Corporation Tops Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Operating trends remained favorable: fee revenue rose 11%, net interest income increased 21% to $864 million, assets under custody or administration grew 15% to $59.2 trillion, and assets under management climbed 16% to $6.3 trillion. State Street also returned $651 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. State Street Posts Third-Quarter Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The board elected Alexander Vollert, a former AXA operations chief with technology and transformation experience, as an independent director. The appointment could support State Street’s operational and digital initiatives but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. State Street Elects Alexander Vollert
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $4.004 billion fell short of the roughly $4.03 billion analyst estimate and declined 1% sequentially. Expenses increased 8% to $2.62 billion, while reports characterized the quarter and updated FY26 outlook as mixed, limiting the benefit of the earnings beat. State Street Reports Mixed Third-Quarter Results

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.17, for a total value of $2,680,226.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,377,419.03. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP W. Hu sold 9,758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.52, for a total transaction of $1,800,546.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,988.88. The trade was a 16.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On State Street

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STT. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in State Street by 9.7% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 84,534 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,699,000 after acquiring an additional 7,469 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in State Street by 9.7% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 303,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,464,000 after purchasing an additional 26,862 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in State Street by 18.3% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 85,775 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,856,000 after purchasing an additional 13,245 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of State Street by 4.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 426,809 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $72,387,000 after purchasing an additional 19,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the second quarter worth $1,424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

State Street Trading Down 8.6%

NYSE:STT traded down $14.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.16. 1,105,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,949. The firm's fifty day moving average is $185.34 and its 200-day moving average is $168.99. State Street has a 12-month low of $104.64 and a 12-month high of $195.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%. State Street's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that State Street will post 13.80 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of State Street from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of State Street from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of State Street in a report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of State Street from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on State Street from $187.00 to $187.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.38.

About State Street

State Street Corporation NYSE: STT is a financial services company that provides institutional investors, asset managers, asset owners, insurance companies, official institutions and other organizations with investment servicing, investment management and related financial services. Its offerings include custody and fund administration, accounting, transfer agency, collateral management, securities lending, foreign exchange, trading and other capital markets services.

Through State Street Investment Management, the company manages investment strategies and offers products such as exchange-traded funds, index strategies, active strategies and other portfolio solutions.

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