Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 127,041 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,932,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% during the fourth 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. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

FAF opened at $58.35 on Wednesday. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 46.68 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $63.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.78.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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