Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,357 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $273,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FFBC. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.6%

FFBC stock opened at $30.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $31.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,706 shares of company stock valued at $1,235,172. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

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.