First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 89.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,742 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 100,291 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in First American Financial were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 314.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.8%

FAF stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.21. 734,232 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,222. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.85 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.03.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 143.05%.

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.