Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 50,495 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 635,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,495 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $42,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banner by 167.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Banner by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Banner by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Down 0.0%

BANR opened at $64.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.02. Banner Co. has a 52 week low of $44.59 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were given 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 2.96%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com lowered Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.