Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Bought by Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Columbia Banking System comprises 2.2% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,063,212 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $103,012,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of COLB opened at $30.05 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.05. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.