Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Acquired by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.9% during the first quarter, owning over 12.7 million shares valued at approximately $317.8 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Columbia Banking System recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in a 5.6% yield, with a payout ratio of 57.14%.
• Shares of Columbia Banking System are currently priced at $25.61, showing a decrease of 0.8%, with a 52-week range between $19.61 and $32.85.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,742,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 116,795 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 6.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $317,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 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 in the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $95,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.19. 1,396,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,991,768. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.27. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Stephens raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.86.

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.