First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Holdings Trimmed by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,273 shares during the period. First American Financial comprises about 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.29% of First American Financial worth $18,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

First American Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of FAF traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.73. 224,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 631,744. The firm has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.40 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

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.