Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Amundi grew its position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 186.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,107 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $70.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $58.23 and a one year high of $78.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.10.

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 return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

About Stewart Information Services

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.