AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 49,371.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased 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 buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented 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 boosted their price objective 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.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $63.86 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.32.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.