State Street (NYSE:STT) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of State Street (NYSE:STT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on State Street in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on State Street from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on State Street from $196.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on State Street from $155.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on State Street in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.72.

State Street Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:STT opened at $185.26 on Tuesday. State Street has a 1-year low of $104.64 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $51.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.33.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.31. State Street had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that State Street will post 13.44 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This is an increase from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. State Street’s payout ratio is 29.63%.

Insider Activity at State Street

In other news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total transaction of $243,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,781,829.78. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of State Street stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total value of $2,260,808.55. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,265 shares of company stock worth $3,935,103 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On State Street

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STT. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of State Street by 153.6% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 175 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in State Street during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in State Street during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in State Street during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Company Profile

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.