Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 354,709 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,875,760 shares of the bank's stock after selling 354,709 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.18% of Banc of California worth $26,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 34.5% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 645,519 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,160,000 after purchasing an additional 165,607 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California during the first quarter worth about $148,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 19.4% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 23,982 shares of the bank's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 686,067 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.33.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.8%

Banc of California stock opened at $15.02 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.40.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 169,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,232,988.80. This represents a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BANC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.