Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 263,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 101,237 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $15,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its stake in First American Financial by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 135,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,334,000 after buying an additional 46,639 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $275,816,000 after acquiring an additional 168,706 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 656.0% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 32,666 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 28,345 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $6,713,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $5,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $69.47 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.09 and a 12-month high of $71.47. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.04.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 33.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FAF. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.25.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.