Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Purchases 13,166 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 24.8%, owning 66,193 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Stewart Information Services has transitioned to a "buy" rating from Wall Street Zen, with a consensus target price of $77.50, following an upgrade in analyst ratings.
• The company reported $1.34 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a 19.9% revenue increase year-over-year, and also announced a quarterly dividend yielding 2.7%.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,193 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,166 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Stewart Information Services worth $4,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STC. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,698,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 18.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,648,000 after purchasing an additional 155,210 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,034,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 89.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 114,291 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 53,860 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 53,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stewart Information Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.50.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

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

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

STC traded down $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.89. 130,452 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,310. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.39 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.04. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $721.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is currently 64.31%.

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.