Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $453,000 in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,259 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 132.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 340.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 864 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 214.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 696 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. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FAF shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens lifted their price target on First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of First American Financial from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE FAF traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 437,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 476,196. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.27. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.60 and a 1-year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.19. First American Financial had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial's payout ratio is 242.70%.

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.