Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 7.0%, now holding 48,263 shares after selling 3,631 shares in the last quarter.
• The company recently reported a 19.9% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $721.50 million, and earnings per share of $1.34, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Stewart Information Services declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.525 per share, with a yield of 2.8%, reflecting strong financial performance.

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,263 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,631 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of Stewart Information Services worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 29,433 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 607.8% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 43,478 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,102,000 after acquiring an additional 7,923 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 44,842.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 5.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 996,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,104,000 after buying an additional 47,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stewart Information Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.7%

STC stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.02. 69,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,814. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.69. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.39 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.52%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

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

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.