Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 155,210 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 155,210 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 3.56% of Stewart Information Services worth $70,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STC. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,890,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth $4,034,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 381.3% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 67,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 53,282 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,601 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,992,000 after purchasing an additional 50,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth $2,643,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.63 per share, with a total value of $59,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 20,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. The trade was a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.40. 129,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,092. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.39 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is 76.92%.

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.