Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 78,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.26% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $347,274,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,044,758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,665,000 after buying an additional 90,233 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 842,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,164,000 after buying an additional 77,618 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 701,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,263,000 after buying an additional 302,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 663,625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Monday, May 18th. Benchmark began coverage on Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE STC opened at $69.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 52 week low of $57.10 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $895.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.07 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 46.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total value of $103,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.94% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a publicly traded provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. The company underwrites title insurance policies for residential and commercial properties, offering lenders and property owners protection against title defects and liens. Beyond title insurance, Stewart delivers a range of ancillary services, including closing and escrow administration, property valuation, and risk mitigation solutions designed to streamline the mortgage process and reduce operational complexity for clients.

In addition to core title and settlement services, Stewart offers technology-driven products aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency in real estate transactions.