Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,328,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,005 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.18% of Columbia Banking System worth $576,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,602,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,345,000 after acquiring an additional 61,242 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,602,000 after purchasing an additional 206,643 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,267,000 after buying an additional 172,066 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.94 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a 200-day moving average of $27.53.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered 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 report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.