Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 860,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,554 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $16,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth $2,850,000. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $3,955,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 185.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 173,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,363,000 after buying an additional 112,826 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $2,025,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,327,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,041,000 after buying an additional 574,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.04.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $26.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Columbia Banking System 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.