Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Sells 31,611 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 82.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 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 acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of COLB stock opened at $22.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.35.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The company's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is 61.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COLB. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.71.

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.

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