Boston Partners Reduces Stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Boston Partners reduced its position in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,204 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.27% of Stewart Information Services worth $5,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on STC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 0.7 %

Stewart Information Services stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 147,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,907. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.01.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

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.