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

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1.55 million shares and ending with about 15.83 million shares valued at roughly $442.5 million.
• Columbia Banking System reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.72 beating analyst estimates and revenue up 37.9% year over year, while analysts still expect full-year EPS of 3.08.
• The bank recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.37, which annualizes to $1.48 per share and a 4.8% yield; meanwhile, Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Hold with a $32.12 price target.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,830,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,550,065 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 5.29% of Columbia Banking System worth $442,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 14.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,536,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,977,000 after purchasing an additional 929,862 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 5,722,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,305,000 after buying an additional 1,239,489 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,965,000. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 268.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 664,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,109,000 after acquiring an additional 484,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.12 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.58 and a 200 day moving average of $29.07.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 58.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on COLB. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.12.

Columbia Banking System Company 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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