Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 23,406 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 23.7%, holding 75,462 shares valued at approximately $2.71 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for First Financial Bankshares to an average of $39.25, with a consensus rating of "Hold" following the bank's positive quarterly earnings report.
• First Financial Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, representing a yield of 2.0%, with the payment scheduled for October 1st.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,462 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,406 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of First Financial Bankshares worth $2,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 36.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,465,774 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,571,000 after purchasing an additional 652,575 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,047,000 after purchasing an additional 133,274 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 125.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,085,517 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,993,000 after purchasing an additional 604,648 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the first quarter worth $34,662,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4.1% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 953,592 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,253,000 after purchasing an additional 37,733 shares in the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Michael B. Denny acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.02 per share, for a total transaction of $180,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 108,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,915,662.16. This trade represents a 4.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.24. 462,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,807. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.52. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.58 and a one year high of $44.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 0.89.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.01% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FFIN. 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bankshares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.