Ameriprise Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 74.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,049,624 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 449,093 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $16,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 701.9% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 952,674 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,728,000 after buying an additional 833,874 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $594,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Banc of California by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,629,512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,192,000 after acquiring an additional 152,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at $2,115,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. This trade represents a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.09.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE BANC opened at $14.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.07. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

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.