Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Holdings in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 459,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,779 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in State Street were worth $45,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STT. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of State Street by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 24,631 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,037 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in State Street by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the third quarter valued at $364,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in State Street by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 124,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,919,000 after buying an additional 3,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in State Street by 35.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 58,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 15,235 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on STT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of State Street from $139.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on State Street from $109.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of State Street from $108.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on State Street from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (down previously from $104.00) on shares of State Street in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.07.

State Street Stock Performance

Shares of STT opened at $76.23 on Friday. State Street Co. has a one year low of $70.20 and a one year high of $103.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.42.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The asset manager reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 12.14%. State Street’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that State Street Co. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio is 36.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other State Street news, EVP Ann Fogarty sold 3,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.47, for a total value of $368,536.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,667.52. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe sold 10,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,081,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,023 shares in the company, valued at $10,002,300. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

State Street Company Profile

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.