William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $25.52 Million in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,249,192 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $25,521,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California during the second quarter valued at about $462,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,970,000 after acquiring an additional 438,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,640,000 after acquiring an additional 600,791 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,010,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,938,000 after acquiring an additional 181,029 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,879,000 after purchasing an additional 297,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Banc of California Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BANC opened at $18.64 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.33 and a 52-week high of $21.93. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.38 and a beta of 0.74.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The business had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Banc of California’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is -114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BANC shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Brean Capital cut shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Banc of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.62.

Banc of California Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.