Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 10,213.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 628,426 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.84% of Banner worth $42,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Banner by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Banner by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.20.

Banner Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Banner stock opened at $64.72 on Tuesday. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.74. 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 data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. Equities research analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

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.