Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Shares Bought by Wolverine Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Banc of California by 49.4%, holding 80,021 shares worth approximately $1.14 million as of the latest filing.
• Insider transactions revealed that Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares while director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares, indicating a decrease in ownership positions.
• Banc of California announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 to be paid on October 1st, translating to an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 49.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,021 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 26,446 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Banc of California worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $168,716,000 after acquiring an additional 644,330 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Banc of California by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,575,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,874,000 after acquiring an additional 50,452 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Banc of California by 274.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,377,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 2,119.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in Banc of California by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,858,527 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,733,000 after acquiring an additional 125,633 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders 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 Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BANC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.68. 1,160,463 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,401,126. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $14.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.29. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.