Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 30.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 485,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 211,787 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $12,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $288,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 17.0% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 8.1% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,365,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock opened at $27.14 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.51.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 62.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COLB. StockNews.com raised Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.