First National Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

First National Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,163 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 132.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $63.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 1.34. First American Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 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.