Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Buys 37,733 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 4.1%, owning 953,592 shares valued at $34.25 million.
• First Financial Bankshares recently reported $0.47 earnings per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting a year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, with a yield of 2.1%, payable to investors on October 1st.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 953,592 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 37,733 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 0.67% of First Financial Bankshares worth $34,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 25.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 289,652 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,404,000 after purchasing an additional 58,291 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 88.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,378 shares of the bank's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 6,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bankshares

In other news, Director Michael B. Denny purchased 5,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were bought 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 directly owned 108,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,662.16. This trade represents a 4.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 5,850 shares of company stock worth $210,839 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.96% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFIN traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.09. 73,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 532,523. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 0.87. 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 announced 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 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 last year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared 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. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.19%.

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.