Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 162.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,286 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,386,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,199,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,490,000 after buying an additional 764,958 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,437,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,689,000 after buying an additional 715,070 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 135.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,543,000 after acquiring an additional 672,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 8,302.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 626,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,783,000 after acquiring an additional 619,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FNF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Fidelity National Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens upped their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Fidelity National Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.60.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

Fidelity National Financial stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $56.14. 1,035,493 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,170,648. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.79 and a 12 month high of $66.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.02.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 15.36%. Fidelity National Financial's quarterly revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Fidelity National Financial's payout ratio is 49.50%.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

Fidelity National Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products.