Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,925 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.32% of First American Financial worth $663,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,324,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in First American Financial by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 42,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in First American Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in First American Financial by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAF. Stephens increased their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $65.68 on Monday. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $70.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.34.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 172.80%.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.