Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in State Street Corporation $STT

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,077 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,052 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in State Street were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in State Street by 9.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,184,690 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $732,775,000 after acquiring an additional 674,120 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in State Street by 2.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,264,161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $381,770,000 after acquiring an additional 115,751 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in State Street by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,068,867 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $274,732,000 after acquiring an additional 14,011 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in State Street by 6,967.4% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,989,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $267,646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in State Street by 1.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,713,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $242,932,000 after acquiring an additional 49,353 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

State Street Stock Up 1.1%

STT stock opened at $116.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. State Street Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $72.81 and a fifty-two week high of $118.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.38. The stock has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In related news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 41,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,517,174.28. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of State Street in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of State Street in a report on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of State Street in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of State Street from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of State Street in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, State Street presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.