Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 832,111 Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 832,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,476,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day moving average of $27.46. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.