Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 121,665 Shares of First Financial Bankshares Inc (FFIN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 906,057 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 121,665 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.37% of First Financial Bankshares worth $40,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,681,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,003,000 after buying an additional 135,622 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 70,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,088,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $492,000. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 5.7% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 11,040 shares of the bank’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.61% of the company’s stock.

Shares of First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN) traded up 1.80% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.60. 427,560 shares of the stock were exchanged. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.23 and a 200-day moving average of $41.57. First Financial Bankshares Inc has a 12 month low of $29.69 and a 12 month high of $46.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 1.32.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 33.01% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $78.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares Inc will post $1.67 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 13th. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

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A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Financial Bankshares from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of First Financial Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of First Financial Bankshares from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd.

In related news, Director Johnny Trotter bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.54 per share, for a total transaction of $65,310.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 385,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,768,255.42. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kade Matthews sold 43,133 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.69, for a total transaction of $1,927,613.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,233,289.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 7,990 shares of company stock valued at $339,948 over the last quarter. 4.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a financial holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, conducts commercial banking business. As of December 31, 2016, the Company’s subsidiaries included First Financial Bank, National Association, Abilene, Texas; First Technology Services, Inc, Abilene, Texas; First Financial Trust & Asset Management Company, National Association, Abilene, Texas; First Financial Investments, Inc, Abilene, Texas, and First Financial Insurance Agency, Inc, Abilene, Texas.