Millennium Management LLC Has $5.38 Million Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Millennium Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,187 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 149,896 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.25% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $5,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 9.6% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 11,394 shares of the bank's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of FFBC stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.23. 274,883 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,543. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $25.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The business had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

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.