Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Bought by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,181,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 0.56% of Columbia Banking System worth $31,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COLB. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,303,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,928,000 after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,611,000 after buying an additional 21,713 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.85.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.4%

COLB opened at $25.02 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.11 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average of $26.65.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Columbia Banking System's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.02%.

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.

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