State Street Corporation $STT Holdings Lowered by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,103 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,678 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in State Street were worth $5,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STT. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of State Street by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,351 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of State Street by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 25,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of State Street by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,024 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in State Street by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its position in State Street by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 21,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Trading Up 3.9%

State Street stock opened at $182.93 on Friday. State Street Corporation has a 12 month low of $104.64 and a 12 month high of $192.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.45.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.31. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This is a positive change from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STT. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on State Street in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on State Street from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on State Street from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus raised their price objective on State Street from $140.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on State Street in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.72.

Insider Activity at State Street

In related news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total transaction of $243,210.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,781,829.78. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.52, for a total transaction of $1,800,546.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,988.88. This represents a 16.39% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,576 shares of company stock valued at $8,415,875. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.