Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases Shares of 75,852 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 75,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.0% during the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,341,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,791,000 after purchasing an additional 51,814 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 13.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 717,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,689,000 after buying an additional 82,379 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the first quarter worth $560,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 109,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,009,000 after buying an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Partnership LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the first quarter worth $362,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COLB. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $31.35 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $31.27 and its 200 day moving average is $29.84. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.48 and a fifty-two week high of $33.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company's offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.

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