Intech Investment Management LLC Has $1.18 Million Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 104.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,850 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 22,380 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,154,000 after buying an additional 39,655 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,839,000 after buying an additional 126,996 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,759,000 after acquiring an additional 20,636 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FFBC. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $25.32. 260,908 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,700. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.88.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.