State Street (NYSE:STT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $195.93 and last traded at $194.6710, with a volume of 49581 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $193.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective (up from $176.00) on shares of State Street in a report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on State Street in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of State Street from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of State Street from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of State Street from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, State Street currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.38.

State Street Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.95. The company has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.41.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The asset manager reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 15.02%.State Street’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that State Street Corporation will post 13.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This is a boost from State Street’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In other news, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.14, for a total value of $243,210.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,781,829.78. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.17, for a total transaction of $2,680,226.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,377,419.03. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,811 shares of company stock valued at $4,723,982. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of State Street

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of State Street by 3.1% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 25,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,788 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in State Street by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,295 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,933,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in State Street by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,024 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,053,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About State Street

State Street Corporation is a global financial services company that provides a range of investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading services to institutional investors. Its principal activities include custody and fund administration, securities lending, performance and risk analytics, trading and execution services, and foreign exchange. The company also offers investment management through State Street Global Advisors, a major provider of exchange-traded funds and institutional investment strategies.

State Street serves a broad client base of asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, and other institutions across North America, Europe, Asia and other global markets.