Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California, owning 9,575,301 shares, after acquiring an additional 50,452 shares, which represents a growth of 0.5% in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group LLP and Millennium Management LLC, significantly boosted their holdings in Banc of California, with increases of up to 2,119.0% in the fourth quarter.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, providing a yield of 2.6%, set to be paid on October 1st for shareholders of record by September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,575,301 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 50,452 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.03% of Banc of California worth $135,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 686,067 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 17,990 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 1,287.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 45,281 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 132,004 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,017 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 116,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 41,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter worth $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In related news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.60. 507,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,373,774. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average is $14.24. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.52 and a 52-week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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

Banc of California Profile

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.