Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of Stewart Information Services worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 83,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.2% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 0.3% in the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 330,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,547,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $4,842,259.60. The trade was a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

NYSE STC opened at $73.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 1.21. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1 year low of $52.80 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.57.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 2.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 94.34%.

Stewart Information Services 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.