Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock: Insider Steven Gardner Sells 10,522 Shares

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Director Steven Gardner sold 10,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.23, for a total value of $328,602.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,479.71. This represents a 80.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.0%

COLB stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,784,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,178. The company has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.86. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.12 and a 1 year high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.74 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on COLB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.7% in the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the first quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.