Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Holdings Lowered by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,514,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 112,511 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $70,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $63,308.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,249.25. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 5,629 shares of company stock valued at $158,044 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $29.73 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $32.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.53 and its 200-day moving average is $28.69.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.