Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC Shares Sold by Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services by 8.9%, selling 35,253 shares and retaining approximately 361,752 shares valued at $25.8 million.
• Stewart Information Services recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34, surpassing expectations and driving a 19.9% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Research analysts have increased their price targets for Stewart Information Services, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 361,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,253 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 1.30% of Stewart Information Services worth $25,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STC. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,161 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 50,836 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,431,000 after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter valued at $4,034,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total value of $143,203.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,757,736.01. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction 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 owned 23,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,559,319.04. The trade was a 19.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on STC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 0.1%

Stewart Information Services stock traded up $0.0380 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $73.5180. The stock had a trading volume of 28,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,199. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.39 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $65.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.05.

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

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.