Capital International Investors Invests $15.89 Million in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 235,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,890,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of STC opened at $65.27 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.05. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1 year low of $58.61 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

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.