Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 9,484 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 1.7%, now holding approximately 532,883 shares valued at around $38 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Natixis Advisors LLC and Meeder Asset Management Inc., increased their holdings in Stewart Information Services, with institutional ownership now at 96.90%.
• Stewart Information Services reported earnings of $1.34 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, and achieved a year-over-year revenue increase of 19.9%, illustrating strong financial performance.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,484 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.92% of Stewart Information Services worth $38,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth about $15,890,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 18.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $70,648,000 after buying an additional 155,210 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth about $4,034,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 381.3% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 67,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,799,000 after buying an additional 53,282 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth about $2,643,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stewart Information Services news, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $371,932.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,559,319.04. This represents a 19.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.63 per share, for a total transaction of $59,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. This represents a 5.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Stewart Information Services stock traded up $0.0020 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.5620. 97,524 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 186,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.96. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.39 and a 12 month high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.04. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The business had revenue of $721.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $671.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

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.