State Street (NYSE:STT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• State Street stock hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $174.86 and last up about 0.3% on the day. The move comes as investors continue to bid up the asset manager’s shares.
• Recent analyst sentiment has turned more constructive, with several firms raising price targets, including Citigroup lifting its target to $193. The stock currently carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $159.97.
• State Street delivered strong quarterly results and a dividend, posting EPS of $2.84 versus expectations of $2.64 and revenue of $3.80 billion, up 15.6% year over year. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying a 1.9% annual yield.

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $174.86 and last traded at $174.7780, with a volume of 146868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $173.71.

Trending Headlines about State Street

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

• Neutral Sentiment: State Street disclosed that several of its subsidiaries exited substantial holding positions in multiple Australian companies, including Smartgroup, Aussie Broadband, Deterra Royalties, Electro Optic Systems, Super Retail Group, Austal, Bapcor, Bega Cheese, and Clarity Pharmaceuticals. These filings suggest normal portfolio rebalancing/position trimming rather than an operating issue at State Street. Article: State Street exits substantial holding in Smartgroup
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street SPDR ETFs also received a prospectus update for a Singapore benchmark fund, which is a routine fund-documentation item and is unlikely to materially affect STT’s fundamentals on its own. Article: State Street SPDR STI ETF issues updated prospectus for Singapore benchmark fund
• Neutral Sentiment: A market article comparing State Street’s SPDR lineup with iShares may be drawing investor attention to the asset-management franchise, but it does not indicate a direct new financial result or corporate event for STT. Article: State Street SPDR vs. iShares: Which Bank ETF Wins This Showdown?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STT. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of State Street from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of State Street in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $158.00 price objective on State Street and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on State Street from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.97.

State Street Stock Up 0.3%

The stock has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $155.38 and its 200 day moving average is $137.77.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.59 billion. State Street had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,212 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $1,431,084.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,251,403.20. The trade was a 13.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Mostapha Tahiri sold 9,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.93, for a total transaction of $1,469,810.23. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,885,701.06. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,876 shares of company stock valued at $5,866,583. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of State Street in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in State Street in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in State Street in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in State Street during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

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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