Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 154,081 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 419,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 154,081 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.41% of First American Financial worth $26,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FAF. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in First American Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth $254,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 25,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This trade represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $64.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.60 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.52 and a 200-day moving average of $64.17. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 172.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on 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. Stephens lifted their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First American Financial 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.