Cooke & Bieler LP Decreases Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,077 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 1.53% of Stewart Information Services worth $28,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC opened at $67.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.21. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.23 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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.