Republic Bancorp, Inc. $RBCAA Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) by 52.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,812 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 26,501 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Republic Bancorp were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Republic Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Republic Bancorp by 2,561.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 825 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Republic Bancorp by 541.2% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,757 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Republic Bancorp in the second quarter worth $121,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 46.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,887 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. 24.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Republic Bancorp

In related news, EVP Anthony T. Powell sold 3,000 shares of Republic Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.54, for a total transaction of $250,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,686.14. The trade was a 10.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christy Ames sold 340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $29,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,145.50. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RBCAA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Republic Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Republic Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Republic Bancorp from $80.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Republic Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

Republic Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RBCAA opened at $99.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.55. Republic Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.97 and a 1 year high of $102.22.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.13. Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 25.38%.The company had revenue of $101.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.60 million. Research analysts forecast that Republic Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. Republic Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Republic Bancorp Profile

Republic Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company. The company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and middle‐market clients. Core offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage financing, SBA lending and wealth management solutions. Republic Bancorp also supports specialized financing needs through equipment leasing and small business advisory services.

Republic Bancorp’s branch network spans key markets in the U.S.