Royal Bank of Canada Sells 383,116 Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Fidelity National Financial stake by 21.8% in the first quarter, selling 383,116 shares and retaining 1.37 million shares valued at approximately $63.6 million.
• FNF reported first-quarter EPS of $0.93, below the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.23 billion also fell short of forecasts but increased 18.2% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52, equivalent to a 4.0% annual yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $56 price target, compared with a recent share price of $51.67.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,371,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 383,116 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.51% of Fidelity National Financial worth $63,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,143,569,000 after buying an additional 4,477,900 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $181,017,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,057,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174,220 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 368.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,770,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,560 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,210,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,287,000 after acquiring an additional 973,891 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $51.67 on Friday. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.78 and a twelve month high of $61.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $48.71 and its 200-day moving average is $49.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.96.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Fidelity National Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fidelity National Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total transaction of $3,162,257.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,581.40. The trade was a 92.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Fidelity National Financial

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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