Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Banc of California by 53.8%, owning approximately $5.8 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 142,819 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their stakes, with Invesco Ltd. raising its holdings by 127.4% and Public Sector Pension Investment Board increasing theirs by 27.3%.
• Banc of California declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 61.54%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 53.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 408,356 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 142,819 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.26% of Banc of California worth $5,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,913,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $168,716,000 after purchasing an additional 644,330 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,575,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,874,000 after purchasing an additional 50,452 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 127.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,453,245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $63,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 2,119.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BANC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.33.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $149,380.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the sale, the director 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 sold a total of 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000 in the last 90 days. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Banc of California stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,153,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,306. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.82 and a 200 day moving average of $14.26. 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 results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

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.