Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys New Holdings in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,724 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 354,548 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,470,000 after purchasing an additional 35,902 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,556,205 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,482,000 after purchasing an additional 130,361 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,825,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 32,902 shares of the bank's stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 12,027 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 10,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 directly owns 471,004 shares in the company, valued at $19,183,992.92. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.54. 429,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,101. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20 and a beta of 0.83. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $27.62 and a one year high of $44.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.68 and a 200 day moving average of $37.18.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FFIN. Stephens boosted their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

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.