Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 266,148 Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 1.0%, selling 266,148 shares and now holds 27,119,995 shares (about 9.65%) valued at roughly $1.48 billion; overall institutional ownership is ~81.17%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed after recent downgrades and price-target cuts (e.g., Barclays to $54), though the consensus rating remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $62.67.
• FNF missed Q4 EPS ($1.41 vs. $1.51) but beat revenue expectations ($4.05B vs. $3.66B) with revenue up 11.9% year-over-year, and it pays a 4.0% dividend (annualized $2.08) with a high payout ratio of ~97.7%.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,119,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 266,148 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.65% of Fidelity National Financial worth $1,480,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FNF. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FNF shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Fidelity National Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. National Bank Financial set a $67.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fidelity National Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Up 0.0%

FNF opened at $52.32 on Friday. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.78 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.51. 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 $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.01.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 4.17%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Fidelity National Financial's dividend payout ratio is 97.65%.

Fidelity National Financial Company 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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