Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 20,840 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,448 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,840 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 1.14% of Stewart Information Services worth $17,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 16,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on STC shares. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

NYSE STC opened at $52.72 on Thursday. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 1 year low of $48.74 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $900.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $903.67 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 48.25%.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a global provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other participants from losses arising from defects in a property’s title.

The company offers title searches and examinations, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related solutions for residential and commercial real estate transactions.