T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California, Inc. by 18.6%, owning approximately 8.15% of the bank's stock, valued at $183.6 million after acquiring an additional 2 million shares.
• Several institutional investors have also made significant changes to their stakes in Banc of California, with 86.88% of the company's shares now owned by institutional investors.
• Banc of California recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 61.54%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,942,131 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 2,029,119 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 8.15% of Banc of California worth $183,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 41.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,367 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter valued at $123,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter valued at $148,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at $156,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at $178,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $419,649.16. The trade was a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Price Performance

Banc of California stock traded up $0.7330 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.2930. 4,376,082 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,872. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.52 and a 52-week high of $18.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.26. 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 cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANC. Barclays boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

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.