Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,950 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares in the company, 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 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.35. The stock had a trading volume of 617,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,082. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.68 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.