First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Bought by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in First American Financial by 37.6%, owning 190,551 shares valued at approximately $11.7 million.
• First American Financial's quarterly dividend was raised to $0.55, with an annualized yield of 3.6%, and the company has authorized a $300 million stock buyback.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings on First American Financial, with the stock receiving an average target price of $75.25, signaling mixed investor sentiment.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 37.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 190,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,041 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of First American Financial worth $11,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAF. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "cautious" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First American Financial Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE FAF opened at $61.13 on Tuesday. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $64.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.06.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This is an increase from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 121.55%.

First American Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.