Insider Selling: First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Director Sells 111,971 Shares of Stock

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF traded up $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $64.76. 515,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,883. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 51.81 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.02.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Stephens lifted their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAF. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 96,627 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,033,000 after buying an additional 29,324 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in First American Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,180,000 after buying an additional 10,489 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,476,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,306,000 after buying an additional 12,668 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First American Financial

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.