Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 604,648 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 125.7%, acquiring an additional 604,648 shares to total over 1 million shares valued at approximately $39 million.
• First Financial Bankshares has seen a rise in analyst price targets, with firms like Hovde Group and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their targets to $39.00 and $38.00, respectively, while currently holding a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company announced a $0.19 dividend, with a payout ratio of 44.19%, reflecting a yield of 2.0% for investors of record as of September 15th.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 125.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,085,517 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 604,648 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.76% of First Financial Bankshares worth $38,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 29,807 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 11,836 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 337,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,152,000 after purchasing an additional 35,881 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 89.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.61. The company had a trading volume of 355,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,079. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.89. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.58 and a one year high of $44.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.52.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.41 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 31.01%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FFIN shares. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael B. Denny bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.02 per share, for a total transaction of $180,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 108,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,915,662.16. The trade was a 4.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.96% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts.