HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 18.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 61,345 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 9,519 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,632.9% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,992,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 2,912,718 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in First Financial Bankshares by 6.8% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,516,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $130,139,000 after acquiring an additional 223,640 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the third quarter valued at about $8,235,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 10,296.3% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 189,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,603,000 after purchasing an additional 187,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 37.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 613,381 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,701,000 after purchasing an additional 167,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group upped their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens upped their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of FFIN opened at $40.47 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $44.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.54.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 28.76%. The firm had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.25 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 49.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,615.20. This trade represents a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

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.