Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,064,840 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 36,691 shares during the period. State Street makes up 2.0% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of State Street worth $104,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of State Street in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in State Street by 116.6% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 366 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in State Street during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in State Street during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in State Street during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In other news, EVP Kathryn M. Horgan sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.97, for a total value of $1,224,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,878,784.74. This trade represents a 10.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

State Street Stock Performance

State Street stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.76. 527,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,989,138. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.91. State Street Co. has a twelve month low of $70.20 and a twelve month high of $103.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

State Street (NYSE:STT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The asset manager reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 12.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. State Street's payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of State Street from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised State Street from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $103.00 price target (down from $104.00) on shares of State Street in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on State Street from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of State Street from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, State Street has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.73.

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.