JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,303 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,483 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.22% of First American Financial worth $14,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% in 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 increased its position in First American Financial by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens increased their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF stock traded up $0.55 on Thursday, reaching $59.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,348. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 47.60 and a beta of 1.23. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. First American Financial's payout ratio 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.