Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 23,343 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 699,057 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,343 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $17,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,706 shares of company stock worth $932,372. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $30.82 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $31.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.