Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 44,699 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) by 66.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,485 shares of the bank's stock after selling 44,699 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 13,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,857 shares of the bank's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 17,398 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 17,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,154 shares of the bank's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, Director Todd D. Brice purchased 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,945. This represents a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.89. 560,446 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 637,036. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.00. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $13.05 and a 1-year high of $19.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $118.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%. First Commonwealth Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is 40.30%.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services.