Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New Investment in State Street Corporation $STT

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired 16,370 shares of State Street Corporation, valued at approximately $1.47 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the asset manager.
• Several research firms have recently upgraded their target prices for State Street, with Evercore ISI raising it from $102 to $115, reflecting strong market confidence.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.84, indicating financial strength with a current dividend yield of 2.9%.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,370 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in State Street by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 934 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in State Street by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 339,406 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,387,000 after purchasing an additional 5,242 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in State Street by 127.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,710 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 17,201 shares during the period. Index Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in State Street in the 1st quarter worth about $505,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in State Street by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,186,569 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $195,764,000 after purchasing an additional 123,259 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

State Street Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of STT traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,598,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,270. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.02 and its 200-day moving average is $98.51. State Street Corporation has a 52-week low of $72.81 and a 52-week high of $116.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. State Street had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that State Street Corporation will post 9.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from State Street's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. State Street's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on STT shares. Cfra Research raised shares of State Street from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of State Street from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup upgraded shares of State Street from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of State Street from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of State Street from $102.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.18.

Insider Activity at State Street

In related news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.29, for a total transaction of $108,197.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,517,174.28. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.