Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 59,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,034,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.22% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 352,477 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $23,789,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,884 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $558,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 50,836 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,850 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on STC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC traded up $1.10 on Friday, hitting $66.16. 6,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,599. The business's fifty day moving average is $68.43 and its 200 day moving average is $68.98. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.61 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 1.05.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

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.