First Eagle Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.64% of Stewart Information Services worth $11,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,375,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58,275.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 4,662 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock opened at $71.69 on Friday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

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.