First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Stock Position Lifted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 61.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,006 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 37,185 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.10% of First American Financial worth $6,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,780,000. FMR LLC increased its position in First American Financial by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,145 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 13,222.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 849,279 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,029,000 after acquiring an additional 842,904 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 6,233.2% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,096,000 after purchasing an additional 695,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,735,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $108,368,000 after acquiring an additional 286,711 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, 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 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of FAF traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $60.98. The stock had a trading volume of 61,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,655. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.85 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 48.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.66.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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.