First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 188,585 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $11,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,573,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $160,707,000 after buying an additional 78,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 0.8% in 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. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,530,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,594,000 after buying an additional 37,866 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $95,638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,124,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,236,000 after buying an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAF. Stephens boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF opened at $63.86 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $51.60 and a 12 month high of $70.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.30.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.38%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 172.80%.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.