Capital International Investors Purchases New Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 666,656 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $41,626,000. Capital International Investors owned about 0.65% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 10.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,820 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,180,000 after buying an additional 10,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens increased their target price 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 Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded up $1.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.76. 1,510,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,957. First American Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $51.60 and a 12-month high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 47.81 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.75.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.17. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.