State Street (NYSE:STT) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• State Street Corporation recently reached a new 52-week high of $113.90, indicating strong trading activity with 191,784 shares exchanged.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for State Street, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target to $111.00, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold."
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.95% and a positive change from the previous $0.76 dividend.

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $113.90 and last traded at $113.72, with a volume of 191784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on State Street from $113.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on State Street from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on State Street from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on State Street from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded State Street from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.00.

State Street Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $104.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.20.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. State Street had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 12.96%. State Street's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that State Street Corporation will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. State Street's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other State Street news, CAO Elizabeth Schaefer sold 1,300 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,154.88. This represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.29, for a total transaction of $108,197.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,517,174.28. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On State Street

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of State Street in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in shares of State Street by 3,914.3% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 281 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of State Street by 40.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of State Street by 2,942.9% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 426 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of State Street by 186.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

State Street Company 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.