First American Financial Corporation $FAF Position Trimmed by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in First American Financial by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,240 shares and leaving it with 168,782 shares worth about $10.37 million.
• First American Financial reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.33 per share beating estimates and revenue of $1.85 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 16.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, and analysts remain generally positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.50.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,782 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 37,240 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.17% of First American Financial worth $10,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 1,107.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 568.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 749 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

First American Financial Trading Down 0.8%

First American Financial stock opened at $64.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $65.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.57. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $71.47.

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

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $82.50.

About First American Financial

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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