Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Cuts Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $23.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,333,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,967. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.54 and a 200 day moving average of $26.81. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.11 and a 52-week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. Raymond James set a $27.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities 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, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.