Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Acquired by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,033,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 228,825 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $55,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,089,000 after buying an additional 412,674 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,290,000 after buying an additional 108,994 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,128,000 after buying an additional 16,165 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other 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 directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price target on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.65.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $32.51 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $32.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.02 and its 200-day moving average is $29.28. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.37 dividend. 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 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.