Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,683,592 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 68,333 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of First Financial Bankshares worth $408,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3,204.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 417,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,462,000 after acquiring an additional 404,566 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 5,474.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 16,424 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,515,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,024,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 472,557 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,902,000 after acquiring an additional 135,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.33.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of FFIN stock opened at $32.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.39. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.11 and a 12-month high of $38.74.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.20% and a net margin of 31.00%.The business had revenue of $166.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from First Financial Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.83%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bankshares

In other news, Director Murray Hamilton Edwards acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.32 per share, with a total value of $29,320.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 43,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,279,348.88. This trade represents a 2.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Geoff Haney acquired 10,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.18 per share, with a total value of $338,436.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 32,146 shares in the company, valued at $1,066,604.28. This represents a 46.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 21,164 shares of company stock worth $664,723 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its primary subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company offers a full suite of banking products and services to individual, small business and commercial clients. With roots dating back to 1863, First Financial has cultivated a strong community banking heritage, combining personalized service with modern financial solutions.

The company’s core business activities include commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, and wealth management.