Boston Partners Sells 216,863 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in First American Financial by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 216,863 shares. Even after the sale, it remained a major holder with 5.9 million shares valued at about $363.2 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.50. Recent analyst moves were mixed, including an upgrade from Weiss Ratings and a downgrade from Wall Street Zen.
• First American Financial reported solid quarterly results and announced a dividend. The company beat earnings and revenue estimates, and it will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, equal to a 3.3% yield.

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,916,731 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 216,863 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 5.81% of First American Financial worth $363,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 135,649 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,639 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 16.9% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,430,000 after purchasing an additional 224,277 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $275,816,000 after purchasing an additional 168,706 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 656.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 32,666 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 28,345 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $5,046,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,854.16. This represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.3%

First American Financial stock opened at $65.69 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $71.47. The company has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $66.35 and its 200 day moving average is $64.70.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.79%.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company's title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.

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