First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

Key Points

• First Financial Bank Trust Division reduced its FFBC stake by 4.4%, selling 36,880 shares and retaining 799,255 shares valued at approximately $25.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.23% of the company.
• Company insiders sold 27,788 shares worth about $919,000 over the past three months, including sales by the CFO and a director.
• First Financial Bancorp. beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.80 versus $0.78), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, and holds a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $34 price target.

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 799,255 shares of the bank's stock after selling 36,880 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. comprises approximately 1.9% of First Financial Bank Trust Division's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division owned 0.76% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $25,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $184,493,000 after buying an additional 374,373 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,956,000 after buying an additional 1,732,223 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at $40,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 29.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,236,781 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,481,000 after buying an additional 283,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter worth about $34,058,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CFO James Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $134,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,863,333.01. This trade represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas O'Brien sold 16,088 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total value of $527,203.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,392 shares in the company, valued at $995,945.84. This represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 27,788 shares of company stock worth $919,006 over the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.51. The company had a trading volume of 894,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,993. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.55. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $36.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to businesses, individuals and institutions.

First Financial Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, cash-management services and mortgage banking. Its services also include wealth management, investment management, trust and estate administration, and other financial solutions designed for businesses, municipalities, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

The company serves communities across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.