Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,026,480 First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in First American Financial, buying 1,026,480 shares valued at about $63.7 million, or roughly 1.01% of the company.
• Other institutional investors also increased their positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 89.05% of First American Financial’s shares.
• The stock has seen mixed analyst action but a generally positive outlook: several firms raised targets, and the consensus rating is “Buy” with an average price target of $82.50; the shares recently traded at $71.01 after a 1.7% gain.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,026,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $63,693,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.01% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $212,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,960 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in First American Financial by 8.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $393,690,000 after buying an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,598,007 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $102,657,000 after buying an additional 380,744 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 163.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,823 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,053,000 after buying an additional 290,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 72.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 552,123 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,468,000 after acquiring an additional 232,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.50.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.7%

First American Financial stock opened at $71.01 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $64.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.93.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company's title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.

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