Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 81.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 95,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,868 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $5,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 16,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 72,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 50.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of FNF stock opened at $62.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.24. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.85 and a 1 year high of $66.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.11. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FNF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Fidelity National Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products.