Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 500.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,003,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 836,314 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.97% of First American Financial worth $62,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF traded up $0.77 on Friday, hitting $60.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 442,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,323. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 48.74 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.31. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.85 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 143.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Stephens boosted their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.