Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in First American Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $63.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.66 and a beta of 1.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 upped their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.