First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 26,728 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 848,001 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 26,728 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. comprises 1.7% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division owned approximately 0.86% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $21,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 34,676 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. This trade represents a 24.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $26.50 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.19 and a 200-day moving average of $26.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.97.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FFBC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

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.