First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Sells $815,006.12 in Stock

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $64.63 on Thursday. First American Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.52 and a 200-day moving average of $64.17.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $663,426,000 after purchasing an additional 107,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $377,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,145 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,333,000 after buying an additional 359,777 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,481,000 after buying an additional 129,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,573,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $160,707,000 after buying an additional 78,022 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

About First American Financial

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.