Xponance Inc. Purchases 617 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% in 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 grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in First American Financial by 34.9% during the 4th 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. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings 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 worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE FAF opened at $65.98 on Tuesday. First American Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $51.60 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.49 and a 200 day moving average of $64.37.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on FAF shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.