First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,585 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of First American Financial worth $11,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 132.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $63.86 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.30.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 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%. As a group, analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First American Financial Company 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.