State Street (NYSE:STT) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• State Street Corporation's stock reached a new 52-week high of $118.95 following an upgrade from Zacks Research, raising its rating from hold to strong-buy.
• Several analysts have positive forecasts for State Street, with price targets up to $130 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, reflecting a growth from the previous $0.76 and representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $118.95 and last traded at $117.58, with a volume of 330 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $116.90.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on State Street in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on State Street in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded State Street from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on State Street from $109.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on State Street from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other State Street news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.29, for a total value of $108,197.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,517,174.28. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On State Street

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STT. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in State Street by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,846 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in State Street by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,410 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in State Street by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,272 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in State Street by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

State Street Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $112.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46.

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

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid 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 is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. State Street's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

About State Street

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.

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