Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $503,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter worth about $236,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 149,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,300,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,530,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total value of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,370.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of STC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91 and a beta of 1.20. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $38.40 and a one year high of $76.83.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.00 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 5.16%. Stewart Information Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.58%.

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.