310,335 Shares in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Purchased by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 310,335 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,377,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.30% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FAF. Barclays PLC grew its position in First American Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,820 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,180,000 after acquiring an additional 10,489 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,978 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,542 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 232,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $60.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 392,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,667. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.41. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.85 and a one year high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.34 and a beta of 1.29.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens increased their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

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.