Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 30.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 301,494 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 134,623 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $11,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 17.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 78,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 11,701 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,375,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,629,000 after purchasing an additional 15,473 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in First Financial Bankshares by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 8,784 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,632.9% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,992,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 2,912,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Down 2.1 %

FFIN stock opened at $36.16 on Monday. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $44.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.46 and a 200 day moving average of $36.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 0.81.

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

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.66%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bankshares

In other news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total transaction of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 101,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total value of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 471,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,183,992.92. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FFIN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of 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. Hovde Group increased their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

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.