Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 150,117 Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 150,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,023,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.44% of Banner at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner in the third quarter valued at $623,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 36.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,477,000. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target 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 assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of Banner stock traded down $0.52 on Tuesday, hitting $65.50. The stock had a trading volume of 193,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,816. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $67.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.95.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Banner Company 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.