Bank of America Corp DE Sells 27,846 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,846 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.23% of Banner worth $5,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Banner by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,111,000 after acquiring an additional 49,457 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Banner in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 816.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 10,213.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,371,000 after acquiring an additional 628,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Banner by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 134,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,951,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BANR shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

BANR stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $61.92. 157,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,712. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Co. has a 52 week low of $44.90 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Banner Profile

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans.