First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 32,885 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 869,023 shares of the bank's stock after selling 32,885 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. accounts for 2.2% of First Financial Bank Trust Division's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division owned about 0.91% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $23,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth $300,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,333,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,394,000 after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $762,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last 90 days. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.46. The stock had a trading volume of 256,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,706. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.87. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.