Short Interest in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) Declines By 27.8%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 27.8% to 3,524,985 shares as of April 15, implying a short-interest ratio of 1.8 days and that about 1.3% of State Street's shares are sold short.
• Insider selling accelerated: COO Mostapha Tahiri sold 9,611 shares at $152.93 and EVP Michael Richards sold 3,000 shares at $153.89, and insiders have disposed of 28,711 shares (~$3.93M) in the past 90 days.
• Fundamentals and analyst views remain positive: Q1 EPS of $2.84 beat estimates ($2.64) and revenue was $3.80B (+15.6% YoY), while analysts raised price targets (Morgan Stanley to $166) and the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $154.

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,524,985 shares, a decrease of 27.8% from the March 31st total of 4,884,788 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,933,606 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at State Street

In related news, COO Mostapha Tahiri sold 9,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.89, for a total value of $461,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,522 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,600.58. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 28,711 shares of company stock valued at $3,933,032 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On State Street

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in State Street by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,223 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,885,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in State Street by 105.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,193 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in State Street by 220.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,263 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 15,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in State Street by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,372 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on State Street from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays set a $165.00 price target on State Street in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Loop Capital set a $144.00 price target on State Street in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore set a $158.00 price target on State Street and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on State Street from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.00.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STT traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.12. 1,728,134 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,186,826. State Street has a fifty-two week low of $89.19 and a fifty-two week high of $156.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.18.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that State Street will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.