Vanguard Group Inc. Has $147.25 Million Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,524,849 shares of the bank's stock after selling 106,262 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.00% of Banc of California worth $147,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BANC. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 280,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,528 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,364,000 after purchasing an additional 19,076 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Banc of California by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 637,423 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,855,000 after purchasing an additional 54,238 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.73.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,625,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,316,648. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.26. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

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.