Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $16.90 Million Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 270,725 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,270 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.26% of First American Financial worth $16,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake 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 period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Stephens raised their price target 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 target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.56. 110,031 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 631,078. First American Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $64.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.25 and a beta of 1.34.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.