Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 676 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Advisors Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 676 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens boosted their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $59.37 on Monday. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $70.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.50 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. Sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. The trade was a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.