Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,213,644 First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,213,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $75,780,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.18% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter worth $95,638,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 13,222.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 849,279 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,029,000 after acquiring an additional 842,904 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 6,233.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,096,000 after acquiring an additional 695,060 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 83.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 893,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,961,000 after purchasing an additional 405,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 239.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 192,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,733,000 after purchasing an additional 136,100 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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First American Financial Trading Down 4.8 %

FAF stock traded down $3.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.62. 1,326,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 637,968. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.39.

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, 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%. Equities analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial's payout ratio is 172.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens raised 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.

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.