Insider Selling: First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) CAO Sells 3,253 Shares

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at $767,447.66. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First American Financial Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE FAF traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.18. 869,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,227. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.09. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.20 and a twelve month high of $79.38.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAF. Truist Financial lifted their price target on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen cut First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $355,508,000 after buying an additional 5,786,134 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $75,011,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in First American Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $71,680,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 469.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,949 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $63,693,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First American Financial

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.