136,225 Shares in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Acquired by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 136,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,460,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,780,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 270,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,904,000 after buying an additional 10,270 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in First American Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 229,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,318,000 after acquiring an additional 14,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in First American Financial by 6,233.2% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,096,000 after acquiring an additional 695,060 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First American Financial Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $61.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 49.30 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.20 and a 200-day moving average of $64.39. First American Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 172.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First American Financial 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.