Exploring First Advantage Corporation (FA) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at First Advantage Corporation (FA) and wondering why institutional money is pouring in, especially when the overall hiring market feels flat, right? The answer is simple: smart money is buying a post-acquisition synergy story, not just a background check business, which is why institutional ownership sits at a staggering 94.91% of the stock. Look at the latest 13F filings: funds like Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ increased their stake by 38.68% in the last reported quarter, and even a heavy-hitter like Blackrock, Inc. added 233,223 shares. This buying isn't speculative; it's grounded in the company's ability to execute on the Sterling acquisition, which helped drive Q3 2025 revenue to $409.2 million, a 105% jump year-over-year. They've already actioned $52 million in synergies, and with full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA guidance at a strong $435 million midpoint, investors are betting on a defintely solid cash flow machine that keeps customer retention at 97%. So, who's buying? The institutions focused on execution and cash generation are buying, and we're going to break down exactly what that means for your portfolio.

Who Invests in First Advantage Corporation (FA) and Why?

The investor profile for First Advantage Corporation (FA) is a classic mix of long-term institutional conviction and private equity influence, plus a healthy dose of retail interest. The core takeaway is that the smart money is betting on the company's ability to execute on its massive Sterling Check Corp. acquisition and deliver on its ambitious growth targets.

You're looking at a stock where the investment thesis hinges on scale and synergy realization, not dividends. The company is focused on using its strong cash flow to pay down debt and invest in its 'FA 5.0 strategy,' which is all about capturing more of the HR technology market.

Here's the quick math: Management expects full-year 2025 revenue to hit a midpoint of $1.55 billion, driven largely by the acquisition, which is a huge jump from the prior year. That kind of growth trajectory attracts a specific kind of investor.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Giants

Institutional investors-the mutual funds, pension funds, and asset managers-hold the majority of the float, but the ownership structure is dominated by a major private equity player. This isn't unusual for a company that has recently gone public or experienced a major transaction.

The largest single holder is Silver Lake Group, L.L.C., which holds a massive 51.47% of the shares, representing a strategic, long-term commitment from the private equity world. This means their interests are deeply aligned with maximizing value over several years, not quarters.

Other major institutional players include BlackRock, Inc., The Vanguard Group, Inc., and mutual fund complexes like Price T Rowe Associates Inc /md/ and Alliancebernstein L.P. Their presence signals a belief in the company's stable business model and market leadership in the background screening space. Retail investors, including individual shareholders and public companies, also hold a significant chunk, around 59.16% of the total shares.

Investment Motivations: Synergy and Scale

The primary attraction for investors right now is the sheer scale and synergy potential from the Sterling acquisition. First Advantage Corporation (FA) has given clear, concrete targets that form the backbone of the investment case.

The company is projecting an Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) compound annual growth rate of 19% to 25%, which is a powerful incentive for growth-focused funds. Plus, the integration is ahead of schedule; they've already actioned $37 million in run-rate cost synergies toward a target of $60 million to $70 million.

• Growth Prospects: Targeting a 19% to 25% Adjusted Diluted EPS CAGR.
• Market Leadership: Dominant position in a large, growing HR technology market, including the $10 billion Digital Identity segment.
• Financial Resilience: High customer retention, consistently over 96%, providing a stable revenue base.

Honestly, the company's ability to generate strong and consistent free cash flow, even while integrating a major acquisition, is what keeps the institutional money interested. You can read more about the foundation of this business in First Advantage Corporation (FA): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Investment Strategies: Long-Term Growth vs. Event-Driven

We see two main strategies at play. The first is a long-term, growth-at-a-reasonable-price strategy, favored by the large mutual funds and the core private equity holder. They are betting on the successful execution of the FA 5.0 strategy and the full realization of those $60 million to $70 million in synergies.

The second strategy is more event-driven and value-focused. The presence of value funds, like the T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value Fund, suggests investors see a disconnect between the company's intrinsic value and its stock price, especially considering the stock has been volatile, with 14 moves greater than 5% in the last year. Hedge funds, for example, have been actively increasing positions, with one firm showing a massive +368.2% change in its holding, suggesting a belief in a near-term catalyst, like a positive earnings surprise or a major integration milestone.

What this estimate hides is the risk of integration delays, but the Q2 2025 Adjusted Net Income of $47.0 million shows they are defintely on the right track. The strategy is clear: buy a market leader, let them execute on a massive, accretive acquisition, and wait for the market to re-rate the stock based on the new, larger scale and profitability.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of First Advantage Corporation (FA)

You're looking at First Advantage Corporation (FA) and wondering who the major players are, and honestly, the ownership structure tells a clear story: this is an institutionally-driven stock. Over 94.91% of First Advantage Corporation's common stock is held by institutional investors, which means the stock's price movements and strategic direction are defintely tied to these large funds. That's a huge concentration of capital, so you need to pay attention to their moves.

The largest shareholder, by a significant margin, is the private equity giant Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. Their massive stake signals a long-term, strategic interest in the company's performance and trajectory. When a single holder has that much power, they often have a direct line to the board and management, influencing key decisions like acquisitions and capital allocation.

Top Institutional Investors: Who's Holding the Reins?

The investor profile for First Advantage Corporation is dominated by a mix of private equity, active asset managers, and passive index funds. This blend suggests both a strategic, activist component (Silver Lake Group, L.L.C.) and broad market acceptance from the passive giants like Vanguard and BlackRock, Inc. The sheer scale of these holdings is what moves the stock.

As of the Q3 2025 reporting period (September 30, 2025), the top institutional holders represent billions in market value. Here's a look at the largest players and their positions:

Silver Lake Group, L.L.C.'s position alone is more than six times the size of the next largest holder, Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/. This is a private equity-backed company that went public, and that initial sponsor still controls the largest block of shares.

Recent Shifts: Are Institutions Buying or Selling?

The most recent 13F filings for the third quarter of 2025 show a net accumulation trend, but with some notable divergence. Overall, institutional investors increased their positions by 9,580,494 shares across 72 holders, outpacing the 5,739,098 shares sold by 80 holders. This is a healthy sign of institutional confidence.

The key takeaway here is that some active managers are aggressively building their stake, while others are trimming. For example:

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ was a major buyer, increasing its position by a substantial 3,732,371 shares, a 38.68% increase.
• Alliancebernstein L.P. also significantly boosted its holding by 969,314 shares, an 18.44% jump.
• Conversely, Fmr Llc was a notable seller, reducing its stake by 1,570,830 shares, or -16.139%.

When you see a large active manager like Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ making a huge bet, it suggests they see a clear path to value, likely tied to the company's strong Q3 2025 results, which showed revenue up 105.5% year-over-year.

Impact on Stock Price and Strategy

Institutional investors are the primary drivers of First Advantage Corporation's stock price and long-term strategy. Because nearly all the stock is institutionally owned, any large buying or selling order from these funds can create significant volatility. Think of it this way: their collective sentiment is the market for this stock.

Strategically, the institutional base is focused on the company's growth narrative. Management is clearly executing on a plan that appeals to these major holders, particularly the successful integration of the Sterling acquisition. The company is highlighting its strong customer retention rate of 97% and the achievement of $52 million in cost synergies through Q3 2025, with a target of $65-$80 million by next year. This is the kind of operational efficiency and growth the big funds demand.

Also, the high institutional ownership is a double-edged sword. It provides stability from a dedicated shareholder base, but it also means the stock can be susceptible to herd mentality if a few major funds decide to sell simultaneously. Analyst ratings are mixed-an average 'Hold' with a $19.25 price target-but the company's financial performance, including its FY2025 EPS guidance of $0.98-$1.02, is the real signal these investors are following.

If you want to understand the core mission that drives these investment decisions, you should review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Advantage Corporation (FA).

Your action item here is simple: monitor the next round of 13F filings closely. If the trend of net accumulation continues, it signals sustained confidence in management's ability to hit that $0.98-$1.02 EPS target for 2025.

Key Investors and Their Impact on First Advantage Corporation (FA)

You want to know who is really buying First Advantage Corporation (FA) stock and why, because understanding the big money's conviction is half the battle in any investment thesis. The short answer is that the ownership structure is dominated by a single, powerful private equity player, Silver Lake Group, L.L.C., which changes the entire risk-reward profile for public shareholders.

This isn't a typical stock where institutional investors are just buying a basket of shares for passive index tracking. Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. holds a controlling stake, owning approximately 51.50% of the company's shares as of the most recent filings in Q3 2025, representing a value of around $1.18 billion. This is the key number you need to focus on.

When one entity holds a majority position, they have a massive, direct impact.

• Strategy Control: Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. can effectively dictate the company's long-term strategic direction, capital allocation, and major acquisitions, such as the recent $2.2 billion acquisition of Sterling Check Corp.
• Board Influence: They appoint a majority of the board of directors, meaning management is primarily accountable to them, not to the broader public shareholder base.
• Liquidity and Exit: Their eventual exit strategy-whether through a secondary offering or a take-private transaction-will be the single biggest factor influencing the stock price when that time comes.

The Institutional Heavyweights and Their Recent Moves

Beyond the controlling shareholder, the rest of the institutional roster for First Advantage Corporation reads like a who's who of major asset managers. These institutions hold the remaining shares, and their collective buying and selling still drives the day-to-day stock movement. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, we saw a clear divergence in sentiment among the top holders.

For example, Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ showed strong conviction, increasing their position by a significant 38.68% in Q3 2025, adding 3,732,371 shares to their portfolio. This is a clear signal of belief in the company's post-acquisition synergy story. On the flip side, Fmr Llc (Fidelity) pulled back, decreasing their stake by 16.139%, selling off 1,570,830 shares.

Here's the quick math on the top institutional movement from Q3 2025 filings, which generally cover activity up to September 30, 2025:

What this table tells you is that while the majority owner is stable, the public float is seeing active management. Vanguard Group Inc and Blackrock, Inc., major index and passive fund managers, also added shares, which is expected given the stock's inclusion in various indices. The action is really in the active managers like Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ and Fmr Llc.

Mapping Investor Sentiment to Financial Performance

The investment narrative for First Advantage Corporation is currently tied to its successful integration of the Sterling acquisition and its ability to manage debt, which is why you see the active funds making such large bets. The company's recent Q3 2025 results showed revenues of $409.2 million and a net income of $2.6 million, demonstrating that the integration is progressing, but the bottom line is still thin due to acquisition-related costs.

The market is looking past the near-term noise and focusing on the full-year 2025 guidance, which projects revenues between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion and an Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) in the range of $0.98 to $1.02. The funds buying in are betting that the company can hit the high end of that EPS guidance and that the debt leverage, currently at 4.2x, will drop toward their target of 3x by the end of 2026. If you want a deeper dive into the company's balance sheet health, you should check out Breaking Down First Advantage Corporation (FA) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The institutional confidence is defintely a tailwind, but the stock's performance will ultimately hinge on management's execution of the synergy plan and the broader hiring market staying stable.

Your clear action here is to monitor the next round of 13F filings to see if the conviction from Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ holds up, and if Fmr Llc continues to sell. That will tell you a lot about the smart money's short-term outlook.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at First Advantage Corporation (FA) and trying to figure out if the big money is still bullish, and honestly, the picture is a mix of strong institutional conviction and near-term market jitters. The largest shareholders are defintely positive, but the overall sentiment is more nuanced than a simple thumbs-up. Institutional investors hold a colossal 94.91% of the stock, which is a clear signal that the professional money managers view this as a core holding.

The single most dominant force is Silver Lake Group, L.L.C., a private equity firm that holds a massive 51.44% of the company, controlling 89.56 million shares. This deep-pocketed ownership structure means the company's long-term strategy is heavily influenced by a single, powerful entity, which can be a double-edged sword: great for stability, but less liquidity for the stock. Insider sentiment is technically 'Neutral,' but the recent activity shows insiders selling more than buying in high-impact open-market transactions, with sales totaling $3.09 million against purchases of only $27.0 thousand over the last year. That's a data point you can't ignore.

• Institutional ownership is 94.91%-a strong commitment.
• Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. owns over half the shares.
• Insider sales outpaced purchases by a wide margin.

Recent Market Reactions to Ownership Moves

The stock market's reaction to investor moves is always telling, and for First Advantage Corporation, it's a story of fundamentals versus technicals. When the company reported Q3 2025 results on November 6, 2025, the stock immediately jumped 9.8% because the numbers were genuinely strong. Revenue hit $409.2 million, a massive 105% year-over-year increase, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.30, beating the consensus of $0.28.

Here's the quick math: strong earnings should mean a rising stock, but the price action has been choppy. Despite the beat, the stock recently hit a new 52-week low of $12.22, trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. This technical weakness suggests that broader macroeconomic concerns, like the uncertain environment mentioned by Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund in Q1 2025, are weighing on the price, overshadowing the company's solid execution and integration of the Sterling Check Corp. acquisition.

You see a clear divergence: the company is executing, but the market is nervous. Large institutional trades show this mixed view. While Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/ and FMR LLC added significant shares in Q1 2025-2.94 million and 2.43 million shares, respectively-other firms like Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut their stake by 66.7% in Q2 2025. This is active management at work, with some seeing a buying opportunity and others taking profits or reducing risk.

Analyst Perspectives on Key Investors' Impact

Wall Street analysts are currently leaning toward a 'Moderate Buy' consensus rating for First Advantage Corporation, which is a decent vote of confidence. The average price target is set at $19.25, implying a significant upside from the current price, with a high estimate of $22.00 and a low of $17.00.

The presence of major institutional holders like BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc., and Capital World Investors, who collectively own millions of shares, provides a strong institutional floor for the stock. Their long-term positions signal belief in the company's Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Advantage Corporation (FA). and its market position.

The key investor influence is best seen in the company's financial outlook. Management's updated FY 2025 guidance, which was raised following the Q3 beat, projects revenues between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $410 million and $450 million. This is a strong signal to the market, especially since the company's own EPS guidance midpoint of $1.00 is above the current analyst consensus forecast of $0.89 for the fiscal year ending December 2025. Analysts like JPMorgan Chase & Co. are adjusting their targets, trimming theirs from $21.00 to $17.00, but still maintaining an 'overweight' rating, recognizing the underlying value despite the price target cut. This suggests they see the near-term risk but still believe the stock will outperform peers.

The table shows that the largest non-private-equity holders, like Price T Rowe Associates Inc /Md/, are actively increasing their stake, a clear vote for the company's future growth.