Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 8,597 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,597 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.28% of Stewart Information Services worth $47,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 149.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 342,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,568,000 after purchasing an additional 204,688 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,488,342 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $185,979,000 after buying an additional 8,853 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 66,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after buying an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,247,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,258,000 after acquiring an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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, December 10th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $69.56 on Tuesday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.16 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.13 and its 200 day moving average is $70.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.34%.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.