Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 154,081 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 419,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 154,081 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $26,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 214.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 86.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 32.4% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,436 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 30.9% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $64.49 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.60 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.17.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. On average, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAF. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

First American Financial Profile

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.