Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 13,273 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 298,475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,273 shares during the period. First American Financial accounts for 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.29% of First American Financial worth $18,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in First American Financial by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,780,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 270,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,904,000 after buying an additional 10,270 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 229,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,318,000 after buying an additional 14,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in First American Financial by 6,233.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,096,000 after acquiring an additional 695,060 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

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

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE FAF opened at $66.51 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.60 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.21 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.40.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 172.80%.

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.