Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Expect Equity LLC

Key Points

• Expect Equity LLC reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System by 10.9% in the first quarter, making it their second largest holding at approximately 3.6% of their portfolio.
• Institutional investors collectively own about 92.53% of Columbia Banking System's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and MetLife Investment Management LLC.
• The company's recent earnings report showed $0.76 earnings per share, exceeding estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.2%.

Expect Equity LLC trimmed its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,490 shares during the quarter. Columbia Banking System accounts for approximately 3.6% of Expect Equity LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Expect Equity LLC owned about 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $3,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Columbia Banking System to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.07.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ COLB traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.50. 3,197,905 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,232,544. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.27. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.98%.The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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.