Insider Selling: First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Sells 12,679 Shares of Stock

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $64.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.17. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.60 and a beta of 1.33.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.80%.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in First American Financial by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 132.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in First American Financial by 214.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAF shares. Stephens lifted their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

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.