Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management cut its stake in Columbia Banking System by 13.2%, selling 79,634 shares and leaving it with 523,350 shares worth $14.69M, while institutional investors/hedge funds own about 92.53% of the stock.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 19,354 shares (worth $561,971) in the past 90 days — including Director Steven R. Gardner and VP Torran B. Nixon — leaving insiders with just 0.68% ownership.
• Columbia beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.82 vs. $0.72; revenue $715M vs. $693M) and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.37 (annual $1.48), a 5.4% yield; analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with a $32.04 target.

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 523,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 79,634 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.17% of Columbia Banking System worth $14,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 37,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 37,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 19.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,906.65. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 19,354 shares of company stock worth $561,971 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on COLB. Weiss Ratings cut Columbia Banking System from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven 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 $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.16 and a 200-day moving average of $27.81.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company's offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.

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