Bank of Montreal Can Sells 2,769 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 15.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,241 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,769 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth about $34,662,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 36.0% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,465,774 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,571,000 after buying an additional 652,575 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 604,648 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 484.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 251,601 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,038,000 after buying an additional 208,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 175.7% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 270,589 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,720,000 after buying an additional 172,453 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FFIN. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Financial Bankshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on First Financial Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bankshares

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Sally Pope Davis purchased 1,700 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.73 per share, with a total value of $52,241.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,218.83. This trade represents a 32.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michelle S. Hickox acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.15 per share, for a total transaction of $62,300.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,960.15. This trade represents a 8.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 4,353 shares of company stock valued at $134,888. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of FFIN opened at $29.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.88. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.80 and a 1-year high of $44.66.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $161.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.21 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 29.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 44.97%.

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.