Prudential Financial Inc. Has $10.51 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 390,966 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 22,681 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.41% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $10,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,781,000 after buying an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,154,000 after purchasing an additional 39,655 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,839,000 after buying an additional 126,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,782. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FFBC. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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 reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note 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.