Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 119,190 Shares of Banner Corporation $BANR

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 903,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119,190 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.66% of Banner worth $60,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,439,000 after acquiring an additional 44,249 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Banner by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,104,000 after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Banner by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Banner by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,878,000 after purchasing an additional 165,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 749,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,938,000 after purchasing an additional 113,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Benchmark started coverage on Banner in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banner currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.75.

Banner Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $70.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.98 and its 200-day moving average is $65.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Banner Corporation has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $74.84.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). Banner had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.54 million. Equities research analysts predict that Banner Corporation will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.