Invesco Ltd. Trims Holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services by 29.1%, holding approximately $17.83 million worth of shares after selling over 102,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their investments in Stewart Information Services, with the company now having 96.90% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• Stewart Information Services recently reported an earnings per share of $1.34, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting a 19.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 29.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,869 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 102,608 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.90% of Stewart Information Services worth $17,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the first quarter worth approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $371,932.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,872 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research 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.com, Stewart Information Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STC traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.16. The stock had a trading volume of 123,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,403. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.18. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.39 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 3.29%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

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.