First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Holdings Decreased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 36.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,987 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,313 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $300,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.1% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,425 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 3,067 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $762,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after buying an additional 149,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at about $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 over the last 90 days. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $29.71 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.05 and a one year high of $31.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.38%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.