Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey Purchases 2,598 Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,025 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FFIN. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,358 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 47.5% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 33.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 32,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FFIN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Financial Bankshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bankshares has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

FFIN stock opened at $31.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day moving average is $34.75. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.80 and a 52 week high of $44.66.

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). First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 29.81%.The business had revenue of $161.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.97%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, CFO Michelle S. Hickox acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.15 per share, with a total value of $62,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 24,461 shares in the company, valued at $761,960.15. This trade represents a 8.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis bought 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.73 per share, for a total transaction of $52,241.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,218.83. The trade was a 32.25% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 4,353 shares of company stock worth $134,888. 4.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.