Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Director Sells $956,073.88 in Stock

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,842,259.60. The trade was a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

NYSE STC traded up $1.68 on Monday, hitting $76.77. 100,868 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,705. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $76.88.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 57.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.