First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 89.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 100,291 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in First American Financial were worth $733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $453,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in First American Financial by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $55.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.13. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.85 and a one year high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.27 and a beta of 1.29.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.00.

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.