First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 17,850 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of First American Financial worth $11,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented 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 objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens increased their price objective on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.24. 92,922 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 653,296. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.58 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.82. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 172.80%.

First American Financial Company 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.