Cooke & Bieler LP Acquires 24,840 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC)

Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 24,840 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 1.62% of Stewart Information Services worth $32,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STC. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 807.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.63 per share, with a total value of $59,630.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,243 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,090.09. This trade represents a 5.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.40. The company had a trading volume of 127,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,272. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.99. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.39 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.09). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Stewart Information Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Stewart Information Services Company 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.