The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $16.50 Million Position in California BanCorp $BCAL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 791,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,501,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCAL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in California BanCorp by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of California BanCorp by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of California BanCorp by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at California BanCorp

In other news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $158,925.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,391 shares in the company, valued at $474,465.29. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California BanCorp Stock Performance

Shares of BCAL stock opened at $21.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.46. California BanCorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.85 and a fifty-two week high of $22.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 26.01%.The company had revenue of $44.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.07 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is currently 21.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BCAL shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of California BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of California BanCorp in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California BanCorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

About California BanCorp

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) is a bank holding company headquartered in California. Founded to address the diverse financial needs of businesses and individuals across the state, the company focuses on community-oriented banking solutions and operates under a locally based decision-making model.

Through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, California BanCorp offers a suite of deposit products including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts. Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, as well as consumer lending products such as personal loans and home equity lines of credit.

In addition to core deposit and lending services, the company provides treasury and cash management services, online and mobile banking platforms, and merchant payment solutions designed to streamline operations for small to mid-sized enterprises.