First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,315 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $6,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,735,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $108,368,000 after purchasing an additional 286,711 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,460,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in First American Financial by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $75,780,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 270,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,270 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE FAF opened at $61.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.39. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 172.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First American Financial news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.