Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,765 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 10.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in First American Financial by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,306,000 after buying an additional 12,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped 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 upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $60.71 on Wednesday. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $51.60 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $63.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.02. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 48.57 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 172.80%.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.