First Financial Bankshares, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 (NASDAQ:FFIN)

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, payable October 1 to shareholders of record September 14. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $0.88 and a 2.7% yield.
• The company has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years, with a current earnings payout ratio of 47.1%. Analysts expect the dividend to remain covered, projecting next year’s payout ratio at 41.7%.
• First Financial Bankshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, matching estimates, on revenue of $172.76 million. Institutional investors own approximately 69.78% of the company, while insiders own 3.80%.

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the bank on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th.

First Financial Bankshares has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. First Financial Bankshares has a payout ratio of 47.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Financial Bankshares to earn $2.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.7%.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN opened at $33.16 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares has a one year low of $28.11 and a one year high of $36.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.37 and a 200-day moving average of $32.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.81.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.03% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The business had revenue of $172.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ronald David Butler II sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $524,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 152,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,193.85. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Denny bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.66 per share, for a total transaction of $103,980.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $225,290. The trade was a 85.71% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3,042,660.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,512,315 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,573,000 after buying an additional 21,511,608 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,690.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,094,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $176,266,000 after buying an additional 4,959,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,227,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4,145.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,709,631 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,067,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 170.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,101,028 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,615,000 after acquiring an additional 694,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a Texas-based financial holding company headquartered in Abilene. Its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations through a network of locations across Texas.

The company offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, business and personal loans, mortgage lending, treasury and cash-management services, and online and mobile banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.