Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Position in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 663,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 118,309 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $30,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FNF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 629,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,975,000 after purchasing an additional 47,267 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 141.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 8,494 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 820,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,979,000 after buying an additional 16,440 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $339,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FNF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. National Bank Financial set a $50.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $47.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.79. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.78 and a 52-week high of $61.40.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.16). Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Fidelity National Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of Fidelity National Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total transaction of $3,162,257.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,702 shares in the company, valued at $260,581.40. This trade represents a 92.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.70% 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.