Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 49,396 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,724,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 49,396 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.22% of Stewart Information Services worth $116,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STC. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 29,717 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,850 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 worth $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

NYSE:STC opened at $64.86 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 1.05. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $58.61 and a one year high of $78.44. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. Research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding STC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.