Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,969 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 21,767 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.33% of First American Financial worth $21,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% during 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens upped 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 report on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. The trade was a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE FAF traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,376. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $51.60 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 51.92 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.36.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.