JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 115,552 Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase trimmed its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 9.9% in Q3, selling 115,552 shares and now holding 1,055,400 shares valued at about $63.84 million (roughly 0.38% of the company).
• Other institutions aggressively increased positions—notably Windacre (+31% to 18.9M shares), AllianceBernstein, First Trust and AQR—leaving institutional ownership at 81.17%.
• FNF reported Q4 EPS of $1.41 (missing the $1.51 estimate) while revenue beat at $4.05B, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 (a 4.6% yield) with a payout ratio near 97.7%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,055,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 115,552 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.38% of Fidelity National Financial worth $63,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,143,569,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,900 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $189,685,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 167.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,741,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $286,792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970,460 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 252.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,379,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $189,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 75.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,057,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,503,000 after buying an additional 2,174,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FNF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fidelity National Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Fidelity National Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.33.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $44.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.84. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.58 and a 1-year high of $66.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 4.17%.The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Fidelity National Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.65%.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In other Fidelity National Financial news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $335,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $737,097.40. This trade represents a 31.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Fidelity National Financial Profile

Fidelity National Financial NYSE: FNF is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.

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