Schroder Investment Management Group Takes $8.46 Million Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 136,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,460,000. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.13% of First American Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.30. 1,639,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,755. First American Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $51.60 and a 12 month high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.15.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Equities research 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 given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. 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.