iSAM Funds UK Ltd Makes New Investment in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $977,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Barclays PLC grew its position in First American Financial by 15.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 8,047 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,092 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,444 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $61.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.26. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $51.85 and a 1 year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's payout ratio is 143.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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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