First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Stock Position Increased by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 359,777 shares during the period. First American Financial makes up 2.7% of Ariel Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned approximately 3.88% of First American Financial worth $249,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in First American Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF stock traded down $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $60.76. The company had a trading volume of 330,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,093. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.61 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $62.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.47. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price target on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial 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.