Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 5,802 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 9.7%, selling 5,802 shares, and now owns 53,976 shares valued at approximately $3.85 million.
• Stewart Information Services announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.525, set to be paid on September 30th, with a corresponding annualized dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 64.31%.
• Analysts have given Stewart Information Services a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $77.50, up from the previous $72.00.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,802 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of Stewart Information Services worth $3,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 during the period. 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 during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the first quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the first quarter worth approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised 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 objective on Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other Stewart Information Services news, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $371,932.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,559,319.04. This trade represents a 19.26% 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 this link. Also, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total value of $143,203.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,757,736.01. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

STC stock traded up $2.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $75.18. The stock had a trading volume of 176,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,849. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.94. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.39 and a 52 week high of $78.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

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.