Two Sigma Investments LP Cuts Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 55.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,597 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during 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 increased its stake 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $191,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased 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 now owns 20,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. The trade was a 5.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $62.76. 145,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 171,297. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.16. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1-year low of $58.61 and a 1-year high of $78.44. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $608.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.