Jane Street Group LLC Lowers Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 58.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,921 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 33,024 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in First American Financial by 66.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 18.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 314.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,967 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of First American Financial stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $55.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 678,842. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.85 and a one year high of $70.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.29.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 143.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

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

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.