Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 46,330 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 72.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 46,330 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in First American Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in First American Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in First American Financial by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens started coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on First American Financial from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.75.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $61.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.83. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $68.64.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.31%.

About First American Financial

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.