Citigroup Inc. Sells 31,896 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 12.3% after selling 31,896 shares, now holding approximately 0.16% of the company valued at $8.2 million.
• In the first quarter, several investors including Fifth Third Bancorp and UMB Bank n.a. significantly increased their positions in First Financial Bankshares, indicating strong institutional interest.
• First Financial Bankshares reported a quarterly EPS of $0.47, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.19 per share to be paid in October.

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 228,316 shares of the bank's stock after selling 31,896 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.16% of First Financial Bankshares worth $8,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,572,218 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,733,000 after acquiring an additional 42,280 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,047,000 after acquiring an additional 133,274 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 480,869 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 8,787 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 422,799 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,187,000 after acquiring an additional 6,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 35,881 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of First Financial Bankshares stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.63. 710,611 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,566. The firm's fifty day moving average is $36.03 and its 200-day moving average is $35.56. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.58 and a 52 week high of $44.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.87.

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

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny purchased 5,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.02 per share, for a total transaction of $180,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 108,708 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 5,850 shares of company stock worth $210,839. 3.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st.

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.