Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP trimmed its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,448 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,840 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $17,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 20.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 93.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 34.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 20.0% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 5,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC opened at $52.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.21. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 52 week low of $48.74 and a 52 week high of $78.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.17). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 4.12% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $900.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.25%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,784 shares in the company, valued at $814,981.44. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stewart Information Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.25.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a global provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other participants from losses arising from defects in a property’s title.

The company offers title searches and examinations, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related solutions for residential and commercial real estate transactions.