Verity & Verity LLC Raises Stake in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,912 shares during the quarter. State Street comprises 1.5% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in State Street were worth $13,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of State Street in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in State Street in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Norwood Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of State Street by 411.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 517 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of State Street during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of State Street stock opened at $86.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.83 and a 200 day moving average of $78.33. State Street Co. has a 52 week low of $62.78 and a 52 week high of $89.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. State Street had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that State Street Co. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This is a boost from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. State Street’s payout ratio is 51.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on State Street from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of State Street in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on State Street from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of State Street from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of State Street from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.11.

About State Street

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.