ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $3.57 Million Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,063 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,623,000 after acquiring an additional 178,327 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 812.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833,744 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,330,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,346,000 after purchasing an additional 36,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,099,000 after buying an additional 562,467 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $28.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.99 and a 200-day moving average of $26.55. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.31.

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.