First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stock Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 242,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 28,609 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $15,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in First American Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $60.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 48.78 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.72. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.85 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. The trade was a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FAF shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

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.