Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Reduces Stake in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its position in shares of State Street Co. (NYSE:STT) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,066 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in State Street were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of State Street in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,687,000. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of State Street in the third quarter worth about $36,022,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of State Street by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,462,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $268,170,000 after acquiring an additional 537,431 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of State Street by 122.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 884,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,242,000 after acquiring an additional 487,671 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of State Street by 873.6% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 453,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,380,000 after acquiring an additional 407,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on State Street from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on State Street from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on State Street from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on State Street from $89.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on State Street from $79.50 to $80.50 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Eric W. Aboaf sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.90, for a total value of $886,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 149,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,015,755.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Anthony Bisegna sold 2,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $190,238.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,737 shares in the company, valued at $1,294,801. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eric W. Aboaf sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.90, for a total transaction of $886,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 149,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,015,755.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,864 shares of company stock worth $1,390,597. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

State Street Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of STT stock opened at $76.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.26. State Street Co. has a 1 year low of $62.78 and a 1 year high of $79.90. The company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.52.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.21. State Street had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 9.62%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. Research analysts predict that State Street Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.69%.

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.