Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys Shares of 407,893 Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 407,893 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,306,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Banc of California at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $683,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Banc of California by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 116,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 41,217 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth about $4,775,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 65,184 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 7,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 169,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Banc of California stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $14.37. 335,114 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,304,250. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $18.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's payout ratio is 61.54%.

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.