Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake by 0.6% to 29,677,731 shares and still owns about 9.92% of Columbia Banking System (roughly $829.5M), while institutional investors hold 92.53% of the stock.
• Columbia topped quarterly EPS estimates ($0.72 vs. $0.68) with revenue up 37.9% year‑over‑year to $675M; the consensus Wall Street rating is Hold with a $31.73 target and several brokers recently raising price targets into the $30–32 range.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.37 (annualized $1.48) for a 5.0% yield

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,677,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 173,661 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.92% of Columbia Banking System worth $829,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 9,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 76,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 4,580 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 481,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,456,000 after buying an additional 106,280 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 340.0% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 50,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 38,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,629 shares of company stock worth $158,044. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COLB. Citigroup upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Columbia Banking System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.73.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $29.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.29. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $32.70. The company has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

About Columbia Banking System

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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