Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 78,022 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,573,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,022 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.50% of First American Financial worth $160,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value 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 trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $64.50 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.29. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $51.60 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.60 and a beta of 1.34.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. As a group, 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, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

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.