Norges Bank Takes Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,213,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $75,780,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.18% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter valued at about $345,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 11.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,930 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 449.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 47,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 39,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $67.00 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.42. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.60 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.60 and a beta of 1.34.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.80%.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. The trade was a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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.

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.