First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.31 million shares valued at about $32.8 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also boosted positions, and institutional ownership now stands at 77.23% of the company’s shares.
• First Financial Bancorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.4%, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $33.00.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,309,205 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 42,116 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.33% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $32,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,448,000 after purchasing an additional 215,357 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,243,149 shares of the bank's stock worth $156,205,000 after purchasing an additional 30,043 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,383,000 after purchasing an additional 354,833 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,415,000 after purchasing an additional 22,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,227,000 after purchasing an additional 824,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.27. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,706 shares of company stock valued at $932,372. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp NASDAQ: FFBC is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank's product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

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