KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

FAF stock opened at $65.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.40. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 172.80%.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value 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 $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

First American Financial Company 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.