First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,834 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,688 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAF. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 135,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,334,000 after buying an additional 46,639 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First American Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,816,000 after acquiring an additional 168,706 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,046,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,713,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,360,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays raised their price target on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.25.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.0%

FAF stock opened at $69.47 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $71.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.07. The stock has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 33.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.