Raymond James & Associates Has $583,000 Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $236,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 215.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 10,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STC opened at $61.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.60. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1-year low of $36.81 and a 1-year high of $65.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.56 and a beta of 1.16.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $554.32 million during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 171.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on STC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.33.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.11, for a total transaction of $757,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 76,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,851,076.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.