NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 3.3%, now owning approximately 0.40% of the company, worth $20.3 million.
• A number of large investors have recently made significant changes to their positions, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning 69.78% of the company's stock.
• First Financial Bankshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19, scheduled for payment on October 1st, representing a 2.0% yield based on its current stock price.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 565,184 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,236 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.40% of First Financial Bankshares worth $20,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 77,474 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the first quarter worth about $549,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 51.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,437 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,228,000 after acquiring an additional 40,173 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in First Financial Bankshares by 10.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 64,287 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,290 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in First Financial Bankshares by 336.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,573 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FFIN. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.20.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

First Financial Bankshares stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $36.03. 155,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,786. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.49. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.58 and a 1 year high of $44.66.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Michael B. Denny bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.02 per share, with a total value of $180,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 108,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,915,662.16. This represents a 4.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bankshares 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.