Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

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. increased its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 53.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408,356 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 142,819 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.26% of Banc of California worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 121,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 22,668 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,341 shares of the bank's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth about $1,343,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 476,410 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,366,000 after acquiring an additional 50,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Banc of California stock traded up $0.0250 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $16.3150. 603,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,379,055. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 0.69.

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 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 company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BANC. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $419,649.16. The trade was a 26.25% 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. 2.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.