Independent Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FNF. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477,900 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,469,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $572,782,000 after purchasing an additional 31,318 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,353,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,634,000 after purchasing an additional 193,629 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,800,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,102,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,137,000 after buying an additional 54,756 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fidelity National Financial news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total transaction of $3,162,257.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,581.40. This trade represents a 92.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FNF opened at $50.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.78 and a fifty-two week high of $61.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.11. The company has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.96.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.16). Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is presently 75.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on FNF. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.