Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 129,863 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 129,863 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.85% of First American Financial worth $247,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First American Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $663,426,000 after acquiring an additional 107,925 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $377,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,145 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in First American Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,573,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $160,707,000 after acquiring an additional 78,022 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in First American Financial by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,735,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $108,368,000 after acquiring an additional 286,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in First American Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,530,977 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $95,594,000 after acquiring an additional 37,866 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of FAF stock traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.98. 714,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,067. First American Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $51.85 and a 12-month high of $70.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $62.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of First American Financial 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 in the company, valued at $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company'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 transaction 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. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.