Caxton Associates LLP Buys New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has invested approximately $1.15 million in Columbia Banking System by purchasing 46,114 shares, marking a significant addition to their portfolio.
• A variety of institutional investors have increased their stakes in Columbia Banking System, with notable increases from Goldman Sachs and others, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• Columbia Banking System declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, which reflects a strong annualized yield of 5.5% and underscores the company's favorable financial performance.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 46,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.1% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 61,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 34.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.2%

COLB stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,776,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,369,226. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.98%.The firm had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on COLB. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.36.

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.