Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Shares Acquired by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 1,938.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 236,420 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 224,820 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.15% of Banc of California worth $3,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banc of California by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Banc of California by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Banc of California by 4.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Banc of California by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Banc of California by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,341 shares of the bank's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Stock Up 3.3 %

Banc of California stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.55. 3,622,834 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,359,154. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.19.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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 increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.25.

About Banc of California

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.