Bank of Montreal Can Raises Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 97.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,221 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 11,475 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Barclays PLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 295,967 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,748. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $20.59 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.57. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.85.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on FFBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.