May 17, 2023 – &Mercer Global Advisors Inc., a premier financial consulting firm, recently announced a significant decrease in its holdings in First American Financial Co. The move saw the firm sell over 13,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, accounting for 30.1% of its total holdings. First American Financial is a renowned player in the title insurance and settlement services sector for real estate and mortgage industries.
At the end of Q4 2022, Mercer Global Advisors Inc.’s fund owned only 31,226 shares of First American Financial’s stock valued at $1.64 million— a substantial reduction from its previous holding in the company.
This announcement by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV has raised several questions amongst investors about the future prospects of First American Financial and has also brought it under negative limelight in recent weeks.
However, it is worth noting that despite the drop-in demand for its shares, First American Financial still continues to offer various services like title insurance and risk solutions to its clients through three primary segments- Title Insurance and Services, Specialty Insurance, and Corporate service offerings.
At present, First American Financial stock opens at $55.70with a market cap of $5.75 billion as on May 17th 2023 indicating all-time high trading levels in comparison to last year today with a P/E ratio of 27.99 and beta value around 1.26 . It’s undeniable that current market volatility has somewhat affected their stocks’ performance over time; however long term exposure to the investor may help witnessing gain profits over time.
Overall, this news comes as no surprise given Mercer Global Advisors’ tendency to make such strategic moves based on market predictions and stock performances affecting their clients’ portfolios positively while making necessary adjustments where required to tackle short-term market volatility trends resulting in long-term advantageous benefits for investors associated with their platform.
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Institutional Investors Boost Holdings in First American Financial, Research Firms Take Notice
First American Financial, a leading insurance provider based in the United States, has recently seen modifications in its holdings from several institutional investors. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings by 2.4% during the first quarter and now owns 7,282 shares worth $472,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC also saw an increase of their stake by 2.4% in the third quarter with 8,093 shares valued at $373,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased their stake by 0.7% during the fourth quarter with a share value of $1,538,000. While SummerHaven Investment Management LLC’s stake rose to 1.5% with a value of$743,000 last quarter and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s stake rose by 7.1%, where they now own shares worth $241,000.
Research firms taking notice of First American Financial has also boosted investor confidence. Stephens upgraded the company from “equal weight” to “overweight” with a price objective increase from $65 to $72 in February this year while StockNews.com gave it a “hold” rating after initiating coverage on March 16th.They stated that Barclays had reduced its target price on First American Financial from$65 to $63 on April 28th and TheStreet downgraded it from “b-” to”c+”.According to Bloomberg.com, there is presently a consensus rating of”Moderate Buy,” and First American Financial boasts an average price target of$68.40.
First American Financial announced regular quarterly dividends for shareholders recorded on June 8thwhich will be paid out on June15that a rate of $0.52 per share.This represents an annualized dividend payout ratio for the company standing at104%.
