Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) by 43.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,496 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 19,992 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

NASDAQ COLM opened at $65.52 on Friday. Columbia Sportswear has a 1 year low of $59.07 and a 1 year high of $92.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.97 and a 200 day moving average of $81.99.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.06). Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Research analysts expect that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,319,177.88. This trade represents a 21.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.