Expect Equity LLC Buys New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 142,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,850,000. Columbia Banking System accounts for about 4.0% of Expect Equity LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Expect Equity LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the fourth 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,476,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,514,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,956,000 after acquiring an additional 512,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,109,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,986,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.93. 1,584,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,545. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.11 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average of $26.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.59.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

About Columbia Banking System

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.