Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 135.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,184,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $141,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257,338 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $57,776,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $53,163,000. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,632,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in First American Financial by 17.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,169,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $178,994,000 after acquiring an additional 473,961 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $49.55 and a 1 year high of $65.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.06). First American Financial had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on FAF shares. TheStreet lowered First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

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.