Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,788,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174,698 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.39% of Fidelity National Financial worth $229,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 8.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 629,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,975,000 after purchasing an additional 47,267 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 141.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 8,494 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 20.9% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 6,040 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 88,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,955,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 342.8% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 275,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,454,000 after acquiring an additional 213,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Financial

In other Fidelity National Financial news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total value of $366,930.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 276,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $335,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $737,097.40. The trade was a 31.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Fidelity National Financial stock opened at $54.37 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.98. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.61 and a 52 week high of $66.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on FNF shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens started coverage on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, National Bankshares set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.25.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.