Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys 4,885 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,885 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.78 and its 200 day moving average is $27.24. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.66.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Wedbush upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.38.

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.