Axa S.A. Acquires New Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

AXA S.A. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 80,125 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,003,000. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of First American Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:FAF traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $60.33. The stock had a trading volume of 85,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,441. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.30 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $51.85 and a 52 week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. First American Financial's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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.