First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 202,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $12,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of First American Financial 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 sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF opened at $65.39 on Thursday. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.31 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.35.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.30%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

First American Financial Company 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.