Legal & General Group Plc Sells 1,597 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,597 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.29% of Stewart Information Services worth $5,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 337.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after buying an additional 35,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,151,000 after buying an additional 8,597 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 205.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 9,077 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 0.2 %

STC opened at $65.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.20. Stewart Information Services Co. has a twelve month low of $58.61 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. Equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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.