Axa S.A. Acquires Shares of 39,157 Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

AXA S.A. bought a new position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 39,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,643,000. AXA S.A. owned about 0.14% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 337.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 35,088 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 205.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,492 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 9,077 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.44. The company had a trading volume of 38,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,695. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $67.59 and a 200 day moving average of $68.72. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $58.61 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 1.01.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

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.