Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 5,678 Shares of State Street Corporation $STT

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of State Street by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,223 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 105.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,193 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 220.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 15,996 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in State Street by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,372 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of State Street in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded State Street from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on State Street from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on State Street from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded State Street from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.72.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STT opened at $182.93 on Friday. State Street Corporation has a 1-year low of $104.64 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.34 and its 200-day moving average is $147.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.88 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that State Street Corporation will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This is a boost from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. State Street’s payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In other State Street news, EVP W. Bradford Hu sold 9,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.52, for a total value of $1,800,546.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,988.88. This represents a 16.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.17, for a total value of $2,680,226.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,377,419.03. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,576 shares of company stock valued at $8,415,875. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About State Street

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.