Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,016,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 106,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.99% of First American Financial worth $63,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:FAF opened at $63.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 50.89 and a beta of 1.33. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction 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 approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.