Short Interest in State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) Declines By 27.8%

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,524,985 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the March 31st total of 4,884,788 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,933,606 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of State Street from $152.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of State Street from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of State Street from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of State Street in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $165.00 price objective on shares of State Street in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

State Street Price Performance

STT stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $152.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,728,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,186,826. The stock has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. State Street has a fifty-two week low of $89.19 and a fifty-two week high of $156.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.18.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. State Street had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 14.22%. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that State Street will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.08%.

Insider Activity at State Street

In related news, EVP John Plansky sold 16,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.32, for a total value of $2,001,552.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,982,059.84. This trade represents a 22.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael L. Richards sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.89, for a total transaction of $461,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,522 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,600.58. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,711 shares of company stock valued at $3,933,032. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of State Street

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STT. Regents of The University of California acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the third quarter worth about $324,576,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of State Street by 11.7% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 208,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,139,000 after acquiring an additional 21,810 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the third quarter worth about $2,622,000. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of State Street during the third quarter worth about $6,611,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of State Street by 49.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 127,984 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,847,000 after acquiring an additional 42,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.