First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Mark Edward Seaton Sells 12,679 Shares

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $64.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.33. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $51.60 and a 52 week high of $70.92.

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, beating 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, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in First American Financial by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in First American Financial by 132.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in First American Financial by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 214.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Stephens upped 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

First American Financial Company 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.