Navellier & Associates Inc. Buys Shares of 13,700 Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 13,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STC. KBC Group NV lifted 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 worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 210.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock opened at $68.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.23 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.21. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.