First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 23.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,033 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 6,374 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAF. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First American Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,344 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $87,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,743,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of First American Financial stock traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $57.79. 1,026,347 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.92. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 143.05%.

First American Financial 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.