Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,493 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $9,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Banner by 3.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banner by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,073,000 after buying an additional 11,808 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter worth $439,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Banner by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,334,000 after buying an additional 193,434 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 79.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,132,000 after acquiring an additional 588,591 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BANR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of Banner stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banner Trading Down 0.2 %

BANR opened at $66.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.38 and its 200-day moving average is $61.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Banner Co. has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.95 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

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.