Sapience Investments LLC Sells 14,713 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Sapience Investments LLC cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,713 shares during the period. Banner makes up 1.8% of Sapience Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sapience Investments LLC owned about 0.14% of Banner worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,619,000 after purchasing an additional 373,037 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 3.7% during 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 buying an additional 49,457 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,300,000 after buying an additional 38,454 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Banner by 10,213.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Banner by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,580,000 after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BANR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ BANR traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $62.52. 24,314 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,268. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Co. has a one year low of $44.59 and a one year high of $78.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.97. 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 (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's payout ratio is presently 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.