Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 149.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 204,688 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $25,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $111,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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 Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of STC opened at $76.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 1.21. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1 year low of $45.53 and a 1 year high of $76.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.59. 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 (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 94.34%.

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.