Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 330,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 120,014 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $8,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,928,000 after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 21,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System 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 owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $25.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.11 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.65.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.85.

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.