Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 240,145 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7%, selling 240,145 shares and maintaining ownership of approximately 13.86 million shares valued at $497.69 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• First Financial Bankshares recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, which will be paid out on October 1st, translating to an annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets on First Financial Bankshares, with upgrades from brokerages like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Hovde Group, setting new price objectives at $38.00 and $39.00 respectively.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,855,439 shares of the bank's stock after selling 240,145 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.69% of First Financial Bankshares worth $497,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 161.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 714 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 76.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,629 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 245.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,904 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 89.9% during the first 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 last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of 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.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Up 1.1%

FFIN stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.03. The company had a trading volume of 36,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,225. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $36.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.87. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.58 and a one year high of $44.66.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $156.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. First Financial Bankshares's payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael B. Denny acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.02 per share, with a total value of $180,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 108,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,915,662.16. This trade represents a 4.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,850 shares of company stock valued at $210,839. Insiders own 3.96% 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.