Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 107,925 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 107,925 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.32% of First American Financial worth $663,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 74.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,417,000 after buying an additional 15,589 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $368,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $345,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in First American Financial by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,930 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens lifted their target price 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.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF traded down $3.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.62. 1,326,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,968. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $51.60 and a 52 week high of $70.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 1.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is 172.80%.

First American Financial Profile

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.