State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• State Street has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 16 covering firms, with nine buys and two strong buys. The average 1-year price target is about $184.72.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $3.65 versus the $3.34 estimate and revenue of $4.05 billion versus $3.88 billion expected. Revenue also rose 23.3% year over year.
• State Street raised its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share from $0.84, equivalent to a $3.68 annualized payout and a 2.0% yield. Meanwhile, insiders recently sold shares, though institutional investors still own 87.44% of the stock.

Shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $184.7188.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on STT shares. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of State Street in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of State Street from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of State Street in a report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of State Street from $155.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of State Street from $196.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In other news, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $2,260,808.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 255,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,693,789.20. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,212 shares of State Street stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total value of $1,431,084.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,251,403.20. The trade was a 13.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,265 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,103. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On State Street

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Regents of The University of California increased its holdings in shares of State Street by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Regents of The University of California now owns 10,065,118 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,273,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,923 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of State Street by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,222,382 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $673,740,000 after acquiring an additional 433,201 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of State Street by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,559,546 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $588,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,174 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in State Street by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,926,321 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $506,534,000 after purchasing an additional 67,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in State Street by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,582,977 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $462,240,000 after purchasing an additional 835,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

State Street Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE STT opened at $184.10 on Friday. State Street has a fifty-two week low of $104.64 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $168.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.71.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.31. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. State Street's revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that State Street will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This is a positive change from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.63%.

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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