Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Invests $560,000 in State Street Corporation $STT

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in State Street during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in State Street during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in State Street by 102.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 318 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in State Street by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in State Street during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on STT. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of State Street from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of State Street from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $158.00 target price on shares of State Street and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of State Street from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of State Street in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, State Street presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.57.

Insider Activity at State Street

In other State Street news, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $2,260,808.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 255,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,693,789.20. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Plansky sold 16,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.32, for a total transaction of $2,001,552.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,162 shares in the company, valued at $6,982,059.84. This represents a 22.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 52,476 shares of company stock worth $7,624,925 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

State Street Price Performance

State Street stock opened at $155.63 on Friday. State Street Corporation has a 12-month low of $94.72 and a 12-month high of $159.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $143.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.20. State Street had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.08%.

Key State Street News

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

• Positive Sentiment: State Street was highlighted as one of the better-positioned names in the regional banks/financials group, with analysts citing favorable industry trends such as restructuring, acquisitions, digitization, loan demand, and lower rates as potential tailwinds for growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: State Street Investment Management announced it will close and liquidate the EMTL ETF, which can be read as disciplined product management and a focus on pruning weaker offerings to improve capital efficiency. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street announced that CFO John Woods will present at the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials Conference on June 10. The event may provide updates on strategy and outlook, but it is not a direct business catalyst by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: State Street’s entities ceased to be substantial holders in several Australian companies, reflecting portfolio ownership changes that do not appear material to State Street’s own earnings power. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ronald P. Hanley and EVP W. Bradford Hu both sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. While routine, insider selling can still pressure sentiment when the stock is trading close to recent highs. Article Title

State Street 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.