First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Position Lowered by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of First American Financial worth $12,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 49,371.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,864,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 8,845 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $65.39 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.35. The company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.31 and a beta of 1.34. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 172.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

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.