Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 425,260 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 593,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 425,260 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.28% of Columbia Banking System worth $16,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 73,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 18,994 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 12,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,559 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,768,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,766,000 after acquiring an additional 329,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

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

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.98. 733,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,767,056. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.11 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is 61.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.85.

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.