Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 89,820 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,429,416 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 89,820 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $192,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FCF. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 12.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 21,108 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 15.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 194,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 5.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 700.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 384,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 336,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 9.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,968 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 21,839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $18.58 on Monday. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $15.00 and a 12 month high of $19.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.89 and its 200-day moving average is $17.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.52, for a total transaction of $38,373.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total value of $238,148.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,410.48. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,180 shares of company stock valued at $808,454. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FCF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.