Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 85.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 38,026 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at about $8,530,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,917,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Stewart Information Services by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 780,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,755,000 after purchasing an additional 74,351 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,610,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 919,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,095,000 after buying an additional 29,864 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total value of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of STC stock opened at $72.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.02 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.40 and a fifty-two week high of $76.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.24.

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

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. 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 131.58%.

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.