Franklin Resources Inc. Has $1.71 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 975 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 33,464 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $762,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC opened at $27.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.01. 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 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.99 and its 200-day moving average is $25.71.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.