Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stock Holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,628 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.23% of Stewart Information Services worth $22,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,151,000 after purchasing an additional 8,597 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 66,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,938,000 after buying an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 4th quarter worth about $749,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC stock opened at $67.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.88.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on STC shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Stewart Information Services Company 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.