Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 88.4%, owning 14,378 shares valued at $516,000 by the end of the last quarter.
• Following the recent quarterly earnings report, First Financial Bankshares reported $0.47 earnings per share, exceeding the expected $0.45 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, with a payout ratio of 44.19% and an annualized yield of 2.0%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) by 88.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,378 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 6,748 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 29,807 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 337,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,152,000 after buying an additional 35,881 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 89.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on FFIN shares. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.25.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Michael B. Denny bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.02 per share, for a total transaction of $180,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 108,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,662.16. The trade was a 4.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bankshares stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.86. 100,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,490. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.28 and a 200-day moving average of $35.52. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.19 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

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.