Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Acquires 59,996 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 483.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 59,996 shares during the quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 111.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB traded up $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.08. 1,069,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,298,813. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $28.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.11. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COLB shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.81.

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.