Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Increases Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 124.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,096 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,341 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in First American Financial by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,673,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 44.8% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 4,274 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE FAF opened at $62.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.37.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.42. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 6.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.31%.

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.