Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 126,390 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 7.3%, owning 1,598,002 shares worth approximately $114 million after the sale.
• Stewart Information Services reported quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and experienced a 19.9% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $721.5 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 64.31%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,598,002 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 126,390 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.75% of Stewart Information Services worth $114,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,682,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $120,600,000 after buying an additional 30,160 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,648,000 after buying an additional 155,210 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 449,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,084,000 after buying an additional 24,840 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 316,444 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $21,357,000 after buying an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,698,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

STC traded up $1.07 on Wednesday, hitting $73.71. The company had a trading volume of 56,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,092. The company's fifty day moving average price is $65.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.14. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.39 and a 1-year high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69 and a beta of 0.91.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.04. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 3.29%.The firm had revenue of $721.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stewart Information Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Insider Activity 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 that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $371,932.08. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 2.78% of the company's stock.

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.