97,206 Shares in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 97,206 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,504,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of First Financial Bankshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,222,092 shares of the bank's stock valued at $231,381,000 after purchasing an additional 281,166 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 6.8% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,516,329 shares of the bank's stock valued at $130,139,000 after purchasing an additional 223,640 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 8.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,361,921 shares of the bank's stock valued at $124,446,000 after purchasing an additional 249,011 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3,508.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,807,834 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,701,180 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,961,000 after acquiring an additional 62,538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FFIN traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.82. The stock had a trading volume of 291,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,884. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.62 and a twelve month high of $44.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 0.83.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In other First Financial Bankshares news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

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.