Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Position Reduced by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 424,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,077 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $28,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter valued at about $207,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 2.0 %

STC opened at $67.49 on Tuesday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a twelve month low of $58.23 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. Research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services.