Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 204,688 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 149.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,090 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 204,688 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.24% of Stewart Information Services worth $25,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STC. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.7% during 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,375,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter valued at $205,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $1.11 on Tuesday, hitting $75.12. 122,801 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $45.53 and a one year high of $76.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.68.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 2.47%. Stewart Information Services's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Stewart Information Services 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.