Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 8,873 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,873 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 2,887.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in First American Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAF. Truist Financial increased their target price on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stephens assumed coverage on First American Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.67.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of FAF stock opened at $67.62 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.87. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $68.75.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 251,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.