Nuveen Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 313,688 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 103,928 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.13% of Stewart Information Services worth $21,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,464. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $58.61 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. Stewart Information Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

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.