AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Reduces Stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 65.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 536,447 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.11% of Fidelity National Financial worth $17,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FNF. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter worth $14,576,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 11.0% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 12.3% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,258,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,081,000 after purchasing an additional 574,189 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its position in Fidelity National Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 110,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 3,706 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on FNF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. National Bankshares set a $63.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.25.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $54.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.12. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.61 and a 1 year high of $66.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of Fidelity National Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $335,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $737,097.40. The trade was a 31.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total value of $366,930.21. Following the sale, the director owned 276,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.