William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 128,972 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 5.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,129,364 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 128,972 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $35,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. EJF Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 16.8% during the third quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 199,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,764 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,001,716 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,128,000 after buying an additional 809,831 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 371,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,146,000 after buying an additional 55,954 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Banc of California by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 152,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after buying an additional 34,728 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Banc of California by 145.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 4,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BANC shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of NYSE:BANC opened at $18.44 on Monday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $21.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.73. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.The firm had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.90%.

Banc of California Company 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.