21,445 Shares in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 21,445 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Banc of California by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 280,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,528 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,364,000 after buying an additional 19,076 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth approximately $360,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 637,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,855,000 after acquiring an additional 54,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:BANC traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,433,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,971. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.85. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $13.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. As a group, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BANC shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.73.

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.