Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 536,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.94% of Stewart Information Services worth $40,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 906.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 656,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,733,000 after acquiring an additional 590,977 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 149.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 342,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,568,000 after acquiring an additional 204,688 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the third quarter worth $5,330,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 7.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,669,000 after purchasing an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter valued at $3,770,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $76.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.21. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.