Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 107,943 Shares of First Advantage Co. $FA

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,506,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107,943 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in First Advantage were worth $109,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FA. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in First Advantage by 8,338.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 777,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,294,000 after purchasing an additional 768,064 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Advantage by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,315,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,020,000 after purchasing an additional 255,641 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in First Advantage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $523,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Advantage by 368.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 300,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 236,396 shares during the period. Finally, Cat Rock Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of First Advantage by 29.7% in the third quarter. Cat Rock Capital Management LP now owns 3,068,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,222,000 after buying an additional 702,452 shares in the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Advantage Stock Performance

FA stock opened at $15.56 on Wednesday. First Advantage Co. has a 1 year low of $8.82 and a 1 year high of $19.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $12.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.92. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 518.67 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. First Advantage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.150-1.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FA. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of First Advantage from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 price target on First Advantage in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on First Advantage from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on First Advantage from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Advantage news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 23,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $350,010.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 19,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $290,895. This trade represents a 54.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Advantage Profile

First Advantage is a global provider of background screening, identity verification and workforce risk management solutions. The company delivers a comprehensive suite of services that help employers verify candidate credentials, manage regulatory compliance and mitigate risk throughout the employee lifecycle. Its platform is built to integrate with leading human capital management and applicant tracking systems, enabling a seamless and scalable experience for organizations of all sizes.

The company’s core offerings include pre-employment and continuous background screening, digital identity verification, drug and health testing, and ongoing employee monitoring.