Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 12,496 Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,496 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.99% of Banner worth $21,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,300,000 after purchasing an additional 38,454 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Banner by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,580,000 after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 237,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,840,000 after purchasing an additional 4,716 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banner by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,023,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BANR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.17.

Banner Stock Performance

Banner stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $65.93. 151,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 217,683. Banner Corporation has a 52 week low of $51.14 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.81.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. Banner had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 21.15%. The business had revenue of $162.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.96 million. On average, analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Banner's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

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.