First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Director Murray Hamilton Edwards Buys 1,000 Shares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Director Murray Hamilton Edwards purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.18 per share, with a total value of $33,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,634 shares in the company, valued at $1,480,956.12. This trade represents a 2.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFIN opened at $33.35 on Tuesday. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.11 and a 1 year high of $38.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.05 and a 200 day moving average of $31.63.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $166.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from First Financial Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 3,042,660.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $51,227,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4,145.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,709,631 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,067,000 after buying an additional 1,669,365 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 170.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,101,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,615,000 after buying an additional 694,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 460.0% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 503,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,032,000 after buying an additional 413,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FFIN. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.33.

About First Financial Bankshares

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.