Merit Financial Group LLC Has $996,000 Holdings in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 194.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,871 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $189,685,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Fidelity National Financial by 252.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,379,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,458,000 after buying an additional 2,420,421 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 368.3% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,770,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,265,000 after buying an additional 1,392,560 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 44.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,883,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,629,000 after acquiring an additional 891,088 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,755,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,555,948,000 after acquiring an additional 580,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FNF shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $63.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.25.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $56.59 on Wednesday. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.61 and a 1 year high of $66.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.40.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is 50.12%.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In other Fidelity National Financial news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total transaction of $366,930.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 276,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

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.