First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 31,997 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.06% of First American Financial worth $3,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,780,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after buying an additional 1,042,145 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 13,222.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 849,279 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,029,000 after acquiring an additional 842,904 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 6,233.2% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,096,000 after acquiring an additional 695,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter worth $41,626,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $61.10. 148,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,908. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.85 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. First American Financial's payout ratio is 143.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Company 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.