Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 4,272 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,272 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.14% of Banner worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 97.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,512,000 after buying an additional 37,390 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banner by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,073,000 after purchasing an additional 11,808 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Banner by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,413,000 after purchasing an additional 29,174 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Banner by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 11,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Banner stock traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $61.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 220,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,010. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.94. Banner Co. has a one year low of $43.63 and a one year high of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday. DA Davidson raised their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

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.