State Street (NYSE:STT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

State Street (NYSE:STT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on State Street from $196.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on State Street from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on State Street from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on State Street from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on State Street from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.72.

State Street Price Performance

State Street stock opened at $185.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.57. State Street has a 1 year low of $104.64 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.33.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. State Street had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that State Street will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at State Street

In other State Street news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.35, for a total transaction of $1,431,084.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,552 shares in the company, valued at $9,251,403.20. This represents a 13.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total value of $243,210.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,827 shares in the company, valued at $6,781,829.78. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,265 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,103 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Regents of The University of California grew its holdings in State Street by 211.2% in the fourth quarter. Regents of The University of California now owns 8,706,195 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,123,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,908,370 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of State Street during the 4th quarter valued at $303,483,000. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of State Street during the 4th quarter valued at $178,705,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of State Street by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,559,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $588,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of State Street by 261.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,217,802 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,277,000 after purchasing an additional 880,507 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.