First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 364,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,208 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $22,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its stake in First American Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First American Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $275,816,000 after purchasing an additional 168,706 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,960 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,598,007 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $102,657,000 after purchasing an additional 380,744 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 16.9% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,430,000 after purchasing an additional 224,277 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of FAF stock opened at $70.10 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.67.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the sale, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Parker S. Kennedy bought 44,841 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on FAF. Barclays lifted their target price on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

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.