Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 19,713 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 152,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,713 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $4,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring 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% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,012,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3,600.0% in the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,000 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.12.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $32.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $32.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.20.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.