Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Banner worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Banner by 79.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,132,000 after purchasing an additional 588,591 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Banner by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after acquiring an additional 132,586 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,477,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Banner by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after acquiring an additional 43,398 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Banner stock opened at $68.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.09. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BANR shares. DA Davidson raised their target price 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 raised their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three 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 a consensus target price of $74.20.

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.