First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Purchased by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

Key Points

• ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 8.9% in Q2, owning approximately 0.25% of the company worth $15.6 million as of the end of the quarter.
• First American Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, which is a slight increase from the previous dividend, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.4%.
• The company has authorized a share buyback plan worth $300 million, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,776 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of First American Financial worth $15,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in First American Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 645.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in First American Financial by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.5%

FAF stock opened at $64.28 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $64.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FAF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.

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