Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of State Street Call Options (NYSE:STT)

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 61,373 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,817% compared to the average volume of 3,202 call options.

State Street Stock Performance

NYSE:STT traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $132.51. 1,342,000 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,339,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.63. State Street has a fifty-two week low of $72.81 and a fifty-two week high of $137.05.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The asset manager reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 13.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that State Street will post 9.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On State Street

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of State Street by 166.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 253 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the third quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of State Street during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of State Street during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in State Street by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 314 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on STT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of State Street in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of State Street from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Loop Capital set a $144.00 target price on shares of State Street in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on State Street from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $136.00 price objective on State Street in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, State Street has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.83.

State Street Company Profile

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.