UBS Group AG Sells 86,420 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

UBS Group AG lessened its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 91,287 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 86,420 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,706 shares of company stock valued at $932,372. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $30.82 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $31.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.