Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 394,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,250 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of State Street worth $38,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,021,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in State Street by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,602,547 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $547,636,000 after buying an additional 561,773 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in State Street by 818.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 518,697 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $45,889,000 after acquiring an additional 462,201 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter valued at $44,070,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of State Street by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,366,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $306,116,000 after acquiring an additional 408,792 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

State Street Stock Performance

STT opened at $76.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. State Street Co. has a 12-month low of $70.20 and a 12-month high of $103.00.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The asset manager reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.31. State Street had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that State Street Co. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. State Street’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory L. Summe sold 10,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,081,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 100,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,002,300. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann Fogarty sold 3,705 shares of State Street stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.47, for a total transaction of $368,536.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,667.52. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on STT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $103.00 target price (down previously from $104.00) on shares of State Street in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of State Street from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of State Street from $104.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on State Street from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on State Street from $108.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, State Street currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.07.

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.