Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 635,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,495 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 1.84% of Banner worth $42,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 816.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Banner by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Banner by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:BANR traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.83. 185,443 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,946. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Banner Co. has a 12 month low of $44.59 and a 12 month high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.93 and a 200 day moving average of $66.85.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Banner's payout ratio is 37.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Banner

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.