Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Holdings Decreased by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,602,000 after purchasing an additional 206,643 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,099,000 after acquiring an additional 562,467 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,267,000 after acquiring an additional 172,066 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,534,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,074,000 after acquiring an additional 190,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the 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 Price Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $24.77 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

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.