American Century Companies Inc. Sells 897,107 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its ownership in Banc of California, Inc. by 28.3%, selling 897,107 shares and now holding about 1.43% of the company, valued at approximately $32.26 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that key personnel such as Olivia I. Lindsay and Richard J. Lashley sold significant amounts of company stock, indicating a reduction in their holdings following the sale of 11,000 and 37,500 shares, respectively.
• Banc of California, Inc. recently reported a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%, with quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 28.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,273,401 shares of the bank's stock after selling 897,107 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.43% of Banc of California worth $32,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 41.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,367 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California in the 1st quarter worth about $148,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth about $156,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California in the first quarter worth approximately $184,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $419,649.16. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.33.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $16.58. 650,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,374,120. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.69. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%.The firm had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.