First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Purchased by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 36,679 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. makes up approximately 2.1% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. First Financial Bank Trust Division owned about 0.94% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $22,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6,820.5% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $17.23 and a 52-week high of $28.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.47. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.