Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Trims Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 82.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,611 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,625,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,024,000 after purchasing an additional 33,477 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,602,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $205,345,000 after buying an additional 61,242 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,602,000 after acquiring an additional 206,643 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.2% in the 4th 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, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,456,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,363,000 after acquiring an additional 209,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.7%

COLB traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.54. 1,986,078 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,798,174. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.69 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.23. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on COLB. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler dropped 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.71.

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.