New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 107,190 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.10% of First American Financial worth $6,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $64.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.17. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $51.60 and a 52 week high of $70.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.33.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 172.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.