FJ Capital Management LLC Purchases 405,309 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 112.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 764,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 405,309 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System makes up 2.4% of FJ Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Columbia Banking System worth $20,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.93. 1,584,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,773,545. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.11 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.73.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Columbia Banking System'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 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.02%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.