Citigroup Inc. Cuts Holdings in 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. lessened its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,316 shares of the bank's stock after selling 31,896 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.16% of First Financial Bankshares worth $8,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 180,271 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,475,000 after purchasing an additional 65,104 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 28,725 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 9,271 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $404,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1,180.5% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 170,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,124,000 after acquiring an additional 157,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,870 shares of the bank's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on FFIN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Hovde Group increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.25.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.77. 357,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,906. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $35.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.55. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.58 and a 12-month high of $44.66.

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

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny bought 5,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.02 per share, with a total value of $180,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 108,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,662.16. The trade was a 4.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased 5,850 shares of company stock worth $210,839 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.22% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

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.