KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 5,700 Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on STC. StockNews.com cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock opened at $67.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.