First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 885,328 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,038 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.62% of First Financial Bankshares worth $26,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,204.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 417,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,462,000 after purchasing an additional 404,566 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5,474.7% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 16,424 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,042,660.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,512,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $642,573,000 after purchasing an additional 21,511,608 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,515,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $3,024,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.33.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

First Financial Bankshares stock opened at $33.65 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.11 and a 1 year high of $38.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.61. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.83.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.00% and a return on equity of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $166.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from First Financial Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 41.30%.

First Financial Bankshares Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its primary subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company offers a full suite of banking products and services to individual, small business and commercial clients. With roots dating back to 1863, First Financial has cultivated a strong community banking heritage, combining personalized service with modern financial solutions.

The company’s core business activities include commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, and wealth management.