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. lowered its position in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 532,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,484 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.92% of Stewart Information Services worth $38,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 138,212 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,821 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,682,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $120,600,000 after purchasing an additional 30,160 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $283,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 23,233 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 8,284 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 316,444 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $21,357,000 after purchasing an additional 12,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

In other news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total value of $143,203.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,359 shares in the company, valued at $3,757,736.01. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $371,932.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,559,319.04. The trade was a 19.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE STC traded up $2.9810 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.5610. The stock had a trading volume of 195,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,944. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.06.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $721.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.50.

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.