First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Sold by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,182 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,308 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $86,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,781,000 after buying an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,076,000 after acquiring an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,887,000 after purchasing an additional 328,788 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,839,000 after purchasing an additional 126,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.07 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The company had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. First Financial Bancorp.’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.