Merit Financial Group LLC Has $996,000 Stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 194.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,871 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNF. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 4,545.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 7,244.4% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Fidelity National Financial by 70.0% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fidelity National Financial news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total value of $366,930.21. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 276,308 shares in the company, valued at $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.25.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 1.6%

Fidelity National Financial stock opened at $56.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.61 and a 52 week high of $66.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.12%.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.