Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 8,075 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,387 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,075 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.20% of Stewart Information Services worth $23,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STC. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 6.4% in the fourth 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. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.63 per share, for a total transaction of $59,630.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. This represents a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of STC stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.40. 127,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,272. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.52. 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 $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 6.92%. The company had revenue of $608.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. Stewart Information Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

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.