Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 161 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,936,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Stewart Information Services worth $130,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $385,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,224,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $943,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on STC. 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $64.13 on Tuesday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $58.28 and a one year high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.80.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.