First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 23,472 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.34% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $32,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at about $96,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $28.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s 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.