American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,412 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 19,867 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.99% of First Financial worth $10,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in First Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 761,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,181,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,997,000 after acquiring an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,100,000 after acquiring an additional 22,287 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new position in First Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,856,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial news, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 9,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $517,157.85. This trade represents a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $463,543.38. The trade was a 11.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625. 3.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

THFF stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, reaching $43.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 118,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,924. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.44. First Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $34.58 and a 12-month high of $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $520.58 million, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.41.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. First Financial's payout ratio is 51.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on THFF shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Company Profile

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans.