Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 415,615 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,854 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.29% of First Financial Bankshares worth $13,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FFIN. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 404.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFIN has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Hovde Group upgraded 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of FFIN stock opened at $31.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 0.84. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $29.43 and a one year high of $39.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.04 and its 200 day moving average is $33.67.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.97%.

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.