First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Stock Holdings Lessened by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,348 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in First American Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 49,371.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,864,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in First American Financial by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 8,845 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens boosted their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

First American Financial stock opened at $65.68 on Monday. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.60 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.34.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.