Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 26.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,922,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,963,000 after acquiring an additional 59,639 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,922,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after acquiring an additional 15,910 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 951,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,912,000 after acquiring an additional 8,004 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 780,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,755,000 after acquiring an additional 74,351 shares during the period. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 330,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,547,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on STC. BTIG Research upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE STC opened at $72.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.95 and a beta of 1.20. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $38.40 and a one year high of $75.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.83.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.13). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 5.16%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $597.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

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.