Invesco Ltd. Grows Stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 352,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $23,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,151,000 after acquiring an additional 8,597 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,070,000 after buying an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 205.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 9,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC opened at $65.27 on Friday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 12 month low of $58.61 and a 12 month high of $78.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.