Candriam S.C.A. Raises Position in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,686 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in State Street were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of State Street by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,626,753 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $512,381,000 after acquiring an additional 31,314 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its holdings in State Street by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 4,124,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $305,238,000 after purchasing an additional 479,205 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in State Street by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,044,135 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $312,693,000 after purchasing an additional 385,404 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of State Street by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,551,282 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $262,795,000 after purchasing an additional 105,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of State Street by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,597,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $201,243,000 after buying an additional 79,746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Stock Performance

STT stock opened at $83.67 on Tuesday. State Street Co. has a 1 year low of $62.78 and a 1 year high of $87.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.78.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $2.15 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is 56.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of State Street from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of State Street from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on State Street from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on State Street from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on State Street from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.89.

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.