KBC Group NV Raises Stake in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

KBC Group NV boosted its position in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 92,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 17,804 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in State Street were worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of State Street in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of State Street during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of State Street during the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of State Street by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 730 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STT opened at $100.90 on Thursday. State Street Co. has a 1-year low of $70.20 and a 1-year high of $102.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $98.20 and its 200-day moving average is $90.90.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The asset manager reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 12.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on STT shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of State Street from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on State Street from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded State Street from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (down from $104.00) on shares of State Street in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of State Street from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, State Street currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other State Street news, EVP Kathryn M. Horgan sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 owns 111,042 shares in the company, valued at $10,878,784.74. This trade represents a 10.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.