The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 73,079 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Banc of California by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BANC. Barclays reduced their price target on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.09.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BANC opened at $14.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13 and a beta of 0.69. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $266.01 million during 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 169,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,232,988.80. This represents a 6.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company 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.