Millennium Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Banc of California by 26.3%, owning approximately 3.63 million shares worth $51.58 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Several major institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group LLP and T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc., significantly boosted their holdings in Banc of California, with total institutional ownership now at 86.88%.
• Banc of California recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which will be paid to shareholders, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 26.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,634,591 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 757,677 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 2.29% of Banc of California worth $51,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BANC. CWM LLC grew 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 worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter worth approximately $123,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter worth approximately $148,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $156,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BANC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,331,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,319. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.52 and a 200-day moving average of $14.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.71. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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