Have First Financial Bankshares Insiders Been Selling Stock?

Some First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chairman, F. Dueser, recently sold a substantial US$1.0m worth of stock at a price of US$40.73 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 1.2%.

View our latest analysis for First Financial Bankshares

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At First Financial Bankshares

In fact, the recent sale by F. Dueser was the biggest sale of First Financial Bankshares shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$39.20. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$444k for 14.90k shares. But they sold 32.00k shares for US$1.3m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of First Financial Bankshares shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like First Financial Bankshares better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does First Financial Bankshares Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. First Financial Bankshares insiders own about US$235m worth of shares (which is 4.0% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At First Financial Bankshares Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of First Financial Bankshares stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of First Financial Bankshares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.