Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 47.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,965 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,922,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,963,000 after buying an additional 59,639 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter worth about $4,917,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $576,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,922,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after acquiring an additional 15,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter worth about $422,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 6.3 %

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $76.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01 and a beta of 1.20. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52-week low of $38.40 and a 52-week high of $76.11.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.00 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.