Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Purchases 10,270 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,270 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $16,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th 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 period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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 dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE FAF opened at $65.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.88 and its 200-day moving average is $64.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.34. First American Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $51.60 and a 12-month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 172.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

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.